Promise to a Little Girl
by xBeautifulDreamerx
Summary: When Sophia is chased into the woods by walkers a brave woman chases after her.Once she saves her, she remembers her own daughter who is no longer with her.Will she stay with the group if she promises Sophia she will? Will she find new hope and new love?
1. Ch 1 Saving a Life

(A/N- So I hope that no one gets to mad at me for this one lol I think I'm going to help Shane out of his slump. Maybe…I'm not a big fan of him in the TV shows…but I feel bad that in the comic he dies without a chance…soooo I think this one will be for him! Enjoy! P/s I don't own anything from the Walking Dead.)

'What have you gotten yourself into now Maria?' I thought to myself as I laid down under a car as a heard of walkers walked by me. I had been watching a group of people raiding cars, trying to figure out if they were going to bother me or not. I had been here for about two or three nights now, moving from car to car eating what little food there was and sleeping in the cars. But because I had been so entertained by this group and how they worked, I didn't realize the heard. I had hardly ducked under the car before the first one passed me. Now, I lay here holding my breath and holding my katana close to me as I moved one hand to pull my pistol out from the back of my pants. There was no way that I would be able to fight all of them off, but if I was going down I wasn't going down alone.

As I laid there, I wasn't expecting someone to run up next to me. A black man was holding his arm and running in my direction. I knew he couldn't see me, but I also knew that all the blood that was coming from him would bring walkers. Right as I was about to get out and run, another man from the group grabbed the wounded man and used walkers to cover them, and the walkers continued to walk by without even taking a second glance at the men. Mentally I breathed a sigh of relief that he had been smart enough to take care of that.

After several more moments of walkers limping by, I was pretty sure they were all gone. I glanced around all sides of the car and listened intently. When I didn't hear anything I crawled out quietly to not bring attention from the two men that were on the other side of the cars. I leaned against the car for balance and looked around keeping my head down. I crawled around the cars and was about to keep moving away from the group when I heard a little girls scream. I turned and made sure that the heard hadn't heard her and then looked back to see the girl running into the forest away from two walkers that were following her. The members of the group watched them disappear into the forest as a man in a tan shirt chased after her.

Before I knew what I was doing, my legs were moving. I darted into the forest and caught up to the girl in seconds. I grabbed her by the arm and pulled her away right before one of the walkers almost caught her. I brought my sheathed katana and bashed the walker on its head sending it down on the ground unmoving. The little girl was cowering against the tree as she watched me. "¿Te encuentras bien niña?" I asked her. She just looked at me and shook her head as tears flowed down her face. "Are you alright sweetie?" I tried again. She nodded yes and ran into my throwing her arms around me into a hug as she sobbed. "Shhhh niña pequeña," I said smoothing her hair and holding her, "What's your name?"

"Sophia," she said sniffling into my shirt.

"Listen Sophia, I need you to be a brave girl for me now. We don't want those other walkers to find us do we?" She shook her head no. "Good girl," I said smiling and kneeling down in front of her, "Now listen, if you stay with me, and be really quiet. I'll take you back to your mamá tomorrow once the walkers are gone. Ok?"

"Mhmm," she said as tears fell down her face. I turned my back to her, "Wrap your arms around my neck Sophia, I'm going to carry you." She leaned forwards and put her hands on my shoulders. I grabbed them and pulled them around my neck and stood up. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I put my arms around her legs to keep her from sliding, and then I started running.

There was a small cabin that hunters must have used when they were hunting in these woods, and I thought that I would take her there until tomorrow morning. I kept an eye out for walkers as I moved through the forest just like I was trained. I was quiet and left almost no trace that I was even there as I moved towards the little cabin.

Since I had been in the forest for about a week before I moved onto the main road, I had a pretty good lay out of the forest in my head. It had been part of my job to remember where things were, and I was very lucky for that. It took us a few moments to reach what would be our safe house for the night.

I opened the door and set her down to look around. I gripped my sword and started looking around the small two roomed cabin. I kept the sheath on because the blade was getting dull and I didn't want to wear it down if I didn't have to. I crept around the rooms, and when I was satisfied that no one, dead or alive, was in there, I closed the front door after moving Sophia into the middle of the room. I locked the door and shoved a table in front of it. Then I went to all the windows and closed them up but let some light in through the wooden blinds.

When I looked back at Sophia she was holding herself while she was trying not to cry. I pulled off the sweater that I had tied around my hips and placed it in the back corner of the room away from most of the windows. Then I walked into the back room and pulled up the loose floor boards where I had hidden my bags and belongings. I pulled out the sleeping bag pillow and coats along with four granola bars and a bottle of water. When I walked back to the main room Sophia was crouched in the corner where I had laid my sweater. I smiled at her and had her move for a moment. I spread out the sleeping bag after giving her the food and water. She munched on those while I put the pillow down and spread out the coats like blankets.

"Feeling better?" I asked as I sat down on the sleeping bag with my back against the wall. I slipped out the gun and placed it by the foot of the little bed and laid my sword down on the side that faced the center of the room. She nodded and put down the wrapper from the third bar as she took another drink from the water bottle. When she finished it all she put the top on and handed it to me shyly. "Thank you," she said quietly.

"You're welcome," I said smiling and standing back up, "Are you tired little one?" She nodded and I walked into the other room and grabbed two of my black t-shirts. "Take off your day clothes, you can sleep in this. You can go change in the back room if you like, there's no one in there." She nodded and walked off to change. I slipped off my boots cargo pants and my gray tank top. I left my gray sports bra on and slipped the black shirt over my head. It was very loose and the end of it ended at my fingertips when my arms where down. The black shorts that I worse under my pants kept my covered below my shirt. I left my socks on and pulled a brush out the pocket of my pants. I took my hair down from its bun and began to brush it out.

I watched as Sophia walked back in to the room. The shirt came down to her knees. "You have really pretty hair," she said walking up to me with her clothes in her arms. She had left her socks and shoes on. "Would you like to brush it?" I asked offering her the brush. Her face lit up as she nodded and took the brush. "Take your shoes off little one, we don't want dirt on the bed do we?" she slipped off her shoes and stood behind me brushing out my waist length dirty blonde hair.

When she was done, I had her sit in my lap as I brushed out her hair and french-braided her hair. When I finished I held up a small pocket mirror from my pants and she smiled as she saw her hair. "Thank you," she said happily. She was so cute as she ran her fingers through her hair. I smiled at her and then braided mine in a regular braid and then curled it up into a bun. She watched me as I braided it and tied it up. "Could you teach me one day?" she asked quietly.

"Maybe," I said smiling at her, not having the heart to tell her that after tomorrow there was a good chance we would never meet again. She yawned and I helped her to the side of the sleeping bag that was against the wall. I laid down next to her with my back to the door and to my katana in case I needed it. She pressed her back against my stomach and I wrapped my arms around her. Nothing was going to hurt this little girl as long as I was here. She had a spot in my heart in just a few moments. She reminded me of how my daughter was before this attack. And I would not let another mother suffer like I had. If only my Marissa was here, she would have liked Sophia. And with that thought, I held Sophia tight swearing a mother's oath to protect her until I was no longer with her, and I fell asleep listening to her breathing.

(A/N- Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! I'm getting some followers and that's awesome! Thank you so much for reading my work! But it would be awesome for some reviews to let me know if you want me to write more of a specific story! Thanks!)


	2. Ch 2 Looking up at the Same Night Sky

(A/N- I'm glad that you guys are liking the story so far! Special thanks to and liz-04 for the awesome reviews!)

I woke up before she did that morning. I woke up before the sun was even up, just like always. I smiled at the little girl that was curled into my side. She looked so peaceful; it was a shame that this was the world she had to grow up in. I carefully moved so as to not disturb her, and I stood up. She rolled onto her other side and I stood up. I stretched out my arms and legs and then grabbed my clothes from the other room and changed. When I finished I grabbed two more granola bars and another bottle of water and brought them into the room where Sophia was. I laid them down next to her and picked up my gun and sword. I put my gun in my waist band in the back of my pants and carried my sword to the front door. I moved the table that blocked the door and set it down quietly, but it squeaked a little bit when I placed it on the floor. "Don't leave me!" I heard Sophia's tired voice squeak as she ran to me and wrapped her arms around me.

"Preciosa niña! I'm not leaving you! I'm going to fill up on some water, look for some food, and check the area to see if I can take you back to your mama today," I said cupping my hands under her chin and kissing her forehead, "Ok? I'll be right back. I promise." She nodded and hugged me before going to lay back down. I smiled and walked out the door. I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air. This was the only place that didn't smell like death.

Sword in hand I took off down to the river that I knew flowed through this area. As I walked there, I kept an eye out for any walkers or any other dangers that this forest might hold. There showed signs of animals passing through but there were no walkers. I filled up the water bottles with the water in the stream making a mental note to boil the water later to clean it and looked around the river for any berries or mushrooms that would be safe to eat. I was able to find some berries that I remembered were ok to be eaten. "Sophia will like these," I said aloud to myself as I started to walk back.

As I was figuring out the best way to take Sophia back to her mother, I noticed something many people would just brush off. I knelt down and picked up a broken twig. Not even a foot ahead of it was the toe print of a shoe. "Sophia," I said and started running back to where I'd left her. The door was cracked open, and I knew for a fact that I had closed it when I started off. I unsheathed my katana and crept around the door. Before I was even in the room, a man's voice met my ear. "Drop the sword lady and come inside or the girl gets it."

"Where is she," I asked stepping inside the door trying to get my eyes to adjust to the darkness. He pulled her out from behind him with one arm. I knew right away that I had an advantage. "Put the sword down!" he yelled at me again. I put it back in its case and slid it across the floor to him. Sophia was crying as she watched me. I smiled at her and then looked at the man that held her, "What do you want? Don't you have any of your friends to just take what you need and leave?"

"What makes ya think that I need anyone else!" he yelled at me as he yanked Sophia in front of him. She squeaked a little bit in surprise and just watched me. "Nothing other then the fact that you're outnumbered," I said smiling at him.

"By a girly and a whimpering child!" he said pushing Sophia to the ground. As he pushed her and grabbed for his gun I already had pulled mine out and shot him twice in the chest before he was able to get one round off. He fell to the ground and laid there without moving. I ran over to him and kicked the gun out of his hand with my boot and looked at his other arm where the hand was missing. "Stupid redneck," I said as I knelt down next to Sophia, "Are you alright." She nodded and hugged me. "No time little one," I said standing up and picking her up with me, "Any walker that heard that is on their way. We need to get out of here. Now." I ran over to the bed that I had made and tossed her the clothes that she had taken off last night. She changed as I packed everything up neatly and went to the other room to grab my things. My bad was large and I knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to carry her and the bag on my back.

As she put her shoes on I tied down the pan on top of my bag so that it wouldn't make noise if I jostled it. "Sophia," I said walking up to her with my pack on, "Can you run?" She nodded vehemently as I stood back up and took her by her hand. I grabbed my sword after putting my gun in my one pocket and pulled her out the door with me. I looked for walkers and then pulled her outside next to me and took off into the forest.

It wasn't long before we saw walkers. There were two of them limping by, but I knew that they didn't see us. "Come on Sophia," I said taking her and lifting her up to a tree limb above us.

"I can't climb," she said quietly.

"I'm right here," I said boosting her up more. She pulled herself up and I jumped up and lifted myself up as well. I leaned against the tree as I helped her to climb higher and higher up the tree until we were high enough that I knew no one could see, or smell us. I slid my pack off and hung it on a branch. "Come here," I said to her. I leaned against the tree and pulled her onto my lap. "I knew him," she said leaning into me.

"How?"

"He use to stay with my mom and our friends before he got separated. He never really talked to me."

"Well he won't hurt you anymore," I said hugging her tight, "But we are going to have to stay here for a while. Ok?" She nodded and I leaned her forward and began undoing her hair. I brushed it out and redid it while she sat there. I knew that she was listening, just like I was, to the leaves crunching beneath us. When the noise finally died, she turned to me and asked, "How long until we make it back?"

"Well," I said smiling, "We are about one days walk from here to the road, at the very most. However, I don't know how many walkers heard the gun shot, so I don't know when we can get down. But if we can get down in the next few hours, we can make it back at dusk tonight. If not, we will go tomorrow. Ok?" she nodded at me and just looked ahead of her. "How about I teach you some Spanish while we wait?"

"Would you!" she asked excitedly.

"Of course little one," I said smiling. We sat there for a while and talked while the sun rose and started to set on the other side of the sky. I taught her little words like; mother, sister, daughter, friend, life, flower, happiness. Little things to keep her mind off of our situation. I could tell that she loved to learn, and I knew that if I kept her mind occupied she wouldn't be as afraid.

Hours went by as we began to get uncomfortable in the tree. When she yawned I decided it was time for her to go to bed, we had a long walk ahead of us. I pulled the sleeping bag out of the pack and put it underneath us carefully so that we had something softer to sit on. I wrapped one of my coats around her and held her close to me. She curled up in my arms and tried to sleep. However, she finally sat up and looked at me and said, "I'm too scared to sleep."

"But why? We are high up and no one will see us here," I said looking around.

"I'm scared of heights," she said quietly and looked away from me.

"Sophia," I said hugging her, "I'm not going to let you fall. I'm going to be awake all night. Ok? Do you trust me to keep you safe?" She nodded and curled back up. She was asleep in minutes.

I was actually glad that she was there, the night air was cool, and the heat from her body kept me warm. I listened all night to the crickets chirping and bats screeching and owls hooting. I loved the night life, it made me feel safe. But through all of the sounds in the forest, I listened to the one that was further away. I heard the moaning of the dead. I knew that they were nowhere close to us, but I knew that if we got down any time soon, they would hear us. There was no way we would have been able to make it tonight.

As I sat there holding the little girl, I looked up into the sky. I remembered camping with my baby girl. We would watch the stars and the moon almost all night and sleep in late in the morning, when I was home that is. That was her favorite thing that we did together, and now, holding Sophia, I felt like a part of my daughter was with me. This little girl was giving me hope that there was good in this hell of a world. All I had to do was hold on.


	3. Ch 3 How to Save a Life

(A/N- Thanks for all the reviews and followers! Hope it keeps up! You guys are the reason I love writing these stories!)

When the sun began to rise, I thought about waking Sophia up. But as she cuddled closer to me, I decided to let her sleep a little bit longer. She was safe for now, and I wasn't going to wake her from the only safe place she had left, her dreams. As the sun rose higher in the sky, I listened for any sign of the dead. When I was sure they were all gone, I carefully woke Sophia up. She looked at me with half lidded eyes and smiled. I knew that she was tired, but I knew that we need to make it back to camp, and I didn't want to go the way that we had come because I was afraid that there would be some straggling walkers.

I gave Sophia a few moments to wake up, and then we slowly made our decent. I reached the bottom first and looked around. When I was sure that there was nothing around, I reached up and helped Sophia down. She looked nervous the moment she left the safety of the tree, but who could really blame her? "Come on little one, and follow right behind me," I said taking her hand and leading her behind me. I knew exactly how to get back to the main road, however, the fact that there might be walkers around kept me on my toes.

We walked for a while and when the sun was high in the sky, Sophia started to get visibly upset. At one point I stopped and got her my last clean water bottle out and gave it to her to drink while we rested. "What's wrong Sophia?" I asked her as she held the water bottle in her hands.

"Why is it taking so long? It didn't take us this long to get to the cabin," she said looking at the water bottle.

"Because we don't want to take the same path back. The walkers that were following you might still be there, and if our sent stayed there, some might be following the sent. We have to go all the way around to make sure that none know where we are."

"Oh," was all that she said. I smiled and pulled her into a hug, "It'll be ok. We'll be back soon." She smiled up at me and I told her that we should continue walking. She followed in my footsteps as I walked in front of her making sure that there was no one, and nothing, around. I listened to all of the sounds of the forest, and realized that it was way to quiet. I stopped and Sophia ran into my backpack. "What's wrong?" she whispered clinging onto my arm and looking around nervously.

"Listen. Tell me, what do you hear?" I said to her putting my arm around her shoulders. Sophia listened intently for a moment then seemed to calm down. "Nothing but the wind," she said smiling up to me.

"But where are the birds?" I asked her smiling, "Where are the bugs? And the animals?" Sophia seemed to listen harder before responding. "Why is it so quiet?" she asked me.

"There's someone in the forest," I said trying not to show her that I didn't know it was alive or not. But she seemed to be uneasy about it all the same. We continued to walk, and all of a sudden, a gunshot ran through the empty forest. I looked around and grabbed Sophia picking her up and carrying her on my front. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. This wasn't the easiest way to run, but I knew that I could run faster like this then with her running on her own. I was use to carrying weight, and Sophia wasn't that heavy. I had my katana in one hand and I continued to run.

I don't know how far I ran, but I did know that my legs were starting to get weak and they started to feel as if they were made out of jelly. I knew that I would be sore as anything in the morning, but I had to get Sophia home.

I kept pushing myself until I was finally able to see the brake in the forest. I ran through the last bit of the trees, the twigs scratching my face, and burst out onto the highway. I dropped to my knees and let Sophia climb down. My katana was still in my hand and I used it to push myself back up onto my feet after catching my breath. "We are back!" she said hugging me and the looking around, "But this doesn't look the same as where we were at."

"That's because we are a little further up the road from where you are."

"Oh," she said looking a little disappointed.

"Come on," I said taking her hand in my left hand and holding my katana in the other, "Let's get you home." Sophia nodded and followed next to me.

After passing a hundred cars or so, I saw the RV where I had seen Sophia for the first time. I knew that she remembered the area because her walk began to quicken. "That's it!" she said a little loudly. I motioned for her to be quiet just in case we weren't alone.

When we were only one car away, she was nearly jumping up and down. "Alright," I said letting go of her hand, "Go on." She looked up at me and then took off running towards the RV. She ran up to the side and was about to knock on the door when I saw an old man walking up to her. I ran behind him and grabbed him by his shirt from behind and put the blade of my katana at his throat. "Don't move," I whispered menacingly into his ear. "What are you doing to him?" Sophia asked as she turned to look at me, "He's a nice man."

"You know him?" I asked loosening my grip on him but not letting him go.

"Yep!" she said smiling. I was about to let go when I heard someone running up behind me. I spun around kicking my leg out and hitting the man that had charged at me. He ended up on the side of the RV with me pointing the pistol at his head. "Who are you," I said looking the black man in the eyes.

"He's part of our group," the old man said as he put a hand on my shoulder. I flinched from the contact and dropped the man in front of me. "I'm Dale, and that's T-Dog." I nodded and walked back to Sophia. I knelt down in front of her and smiled at her. "Are you sure that you know them?" Sophia nodded enthusiastically and I stood back up with my hands on her shoulders. I put the pistol back in my waist band, but I kept my katana in my right hand. "Where's my mom," Sophia asked the men.

"They are out looking for you," the man named Dale said. He seemed harmless, easy to take out, just like I remembered. I knew that I had seen Sophia in the group with them, but I still did not remember who they were right away. I was more concerned about her safety. But the moment that she said that she knew them, I could remember them clearly from when I was watching them. "There was a gunshot," I said looking at the old man, "You don't think that something happened to them. Do you?"

"I think that they are alright, they should be heading back soon. They wanted to get back before it was dark."  
>"That's a smart decision," I said and then turned back to Sophia, "Feeling better?" She nodded, and I could tell right away that she was quieter around these men then she was with me, but that made sense. I couldn't leave her when she wasn't comfortable with who she was with. "Why don't you go inside the RV and clean up?" Dale asked opening the door. She smiled and looked up at me, when I nodded she went inside and closed the door behind her. "Thank you for bringing her back safely to us. Can I ask you what your name is?"<p>

"Maria," I said scanning over the area.

"Are you traveling alone Maria?" he asked me and I snapped my eyes back to him and just watched him.

"Does it matter?" I answered his question with another question.

"Well, yes," he said looking as if my eyes made him feel uncomfortable. I knew that they did, my stares could make anyone feel uncomfortable. My eyes were just unsettling for some. "Why?" I asked not letting up with my eyes.

"Well if there are more of you," he said, "then I figured you would be leaving right away. But if there are not, then I thought that maybe you could rest here for the night after meeting the Sophia's mother. I know that she would love to thank you for keeping her daughter safe. And maybe, if you'd like, you'd be able to stay with us. It can't hurt to have another helping hand." The man seemed genuine enough, but I still didn't want to trust him. T-Dog had long since walked away licking his wounds that I had inflicted on his pride. Men didn't usually like it when the woman had more power then them. "I'll think about it," I said looking at the RV.

"That's good, do what makes you comfortable," the man said as he turned to walk away. I watched him as he climbed onto the roof and started his watch. I sat down with my back to the RV and just watched and waited. It didn't take long for me to hear something coming my way. I pulled up my katana and stood in the ready position as the noise of someone closer got louder.

The first one out of the trees was a man with a cross bow aimed right at me. The others stopped behind him. There was a woman with short grey hair, a woman with blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail, and an oriental man with them all standing behind the man who was holding his weapon fully loaded at me. "Jus' who the hell are you?" the man with the cross bow asked me.

"Drop your weapon. I do not do so well when someone is pointing a weapon at me," I said turning the handle of my sword in my hand and then lifting it up slowly so that the end of it laid in my left hand.

"Answer the question and maybe I will," he said narrowing his eyes at me.

"Not smart. Last warning," I said grinning at him.

"Lady, I'm the one wit' the weapon. You jus' got a fancy sword."

"Your choice," I laughed darkly as I caught the light of the sun on the blade and angled it into his eyes to temporarily blind him. He lifted his hand to shield his eyes from the light as he mumbled something under his breath. Before he could readjust, I had maneuvered myself to his side, spun him around so that my back wasn't to the rest of his group and used my foot to trip him and make him land on his stomach on the ground. I twisted his hands behind him and pulled the gun out of the back of my pants and pointed it at the blonde in the group and held my sword to his throat tightly.

He was coughing from having the wind knocked out of him, and it wasn't helping that he was trying to talk. "Names," I said pulling the safety off the gun. "That's Daryl, I'm Andrea, that's Glen, and that's," the blonde started to say as the door to the RV flew open.

"Mommy!" Sophia yelled and ran to the gray haired woman.

"Sophia!" the woman yelled and ran towards Sophia as she pulled her into her embrace. I lowered my gun and jumped off the man's back. I walked away from him without turning my back as he stood up. Sophia and her mother were crying, so I picked this time to walk away. Sophia wouldn't even notice I was gone she would be so happy with being back with her mother. I knew that if I had a second chance with my daughter, I would never let her go.

When I was far enough away from the man that was standing up, I went to turn around and Dale was standing there, inches from me, smiling. My hand tightened up on the handle of my katana, but I relaxed it. This was a kind man, and I was safe(ish) around him. "Good-bye," I said walking around him. But he put a hand on my shoulder and said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Carol, this is the woman who brought Sophia back to you." I glared at the man and thought momentarily about killing him, when the woman's arms wrapped around my body making it difficult to breathe.

"Thank you!" the woman cried out, "Thank you so much."

"It's ok," I said patting her back awkwardly, "one mother to another," I said pulling her back from me, "Don't worry about it."

"You're a mother too?" Carol said holding Sophia tightly as tears still fell down her cheeks.

"Yes," I said trying to smile.

"Where's your daughter?" Carol asked looking around.

"She'd dead," I said as I moved my hand up to touch the locket that was hidden under my shirt, "She's been gone for two years today."

"I'm so sorry," Carol said as she visibly tightened her grip on a crying Sophia, "If there is any way I can repay you. Please, let me know." I nodded and smiled at her. I started to back up, but Dale put his hand back on my shoulder. I was really starting to hate this man. "Carol," he said looking at her and then me and then back to her, "this might not be my place to say anything. But she is alone. I told her that she could stay here for the night."

"The night?" Sophia said looking at me, "You said you would stay with me."

"Sophia," I started, but Carol grabbed my arms and looked me I the eye.

"Stay, please? If not for yourself, please stay for Sophia. I owe you; you saved the life of my baby." And as she looked at me and said that, there was no way I could say no.


	4. Ch 4 Save Him

(A/N- I do not own anything or anyone from the Walking Dead. However, I can honestly say that I did not like Sunday's episode. I know it was the first one so far…but still, what Shane did for Carol was sweet. I hope they get better. BTW I don't know if you have noticed, but every title of this story is the name of a song or, likee chapter two, a lyric. lol just thought I would give you a random fact :p Read and Review please!)

After I had been introduced to everyone, Glen seemed to remember something important. "We have to leave Dale," he said and suddenly everyone remembered why they had run up here.

"What's going on?" Dale asked looking around at everyone.

"Carl was shot looking for Sophia," Glenn said, "Some lady came and took Lori. She told us where her and her family are staying."

"Ok," Dale said walking into the RV and beckoning to us, "Let's get going." I followed Sophia and Carol into the RV while the others went to their cars. I sat down at the table as Carol and Sophia sat in the back on the bed holding each other while Dale drove.

It didn't take us long to reach the farm that Glen had told us about. When we got there, a woman was waiting to let us in. We decided that it was best for some of us to stay out, so Dale went in first to see if Carl was awake enough to see Sophia. T-Dog went inside with the woman, who we learned was named Maggie, so that she could see what they could do for his arm. Carol Sophia and I sat on the porch while Daryl still sat pouting by his motorcycle. I knew that he didn't like me, but I didn't really care, his ego was just bruised.

When Dale came back out, he told us that Carl was no ready for visitors, and that he wasn't doing so well. He told us that two men were going to go into a nearby town to see if they could get medical supplies for Carl. When Carol asked who, the two men walked out. A heavy set man walked past us with a nod of his head, and behind him was a dark haired, tanned skin, dark eyed man. I felt my heart race for a moment when he looked at me, but I quickly got control of it. "Who are you?" he asked with a distant look in his eyes.

"Maria," I said looking him right in the eyes trying to see what was wrong. Was this the boy's father?

"Shane and Otis are going," Dale said as the men continued down the stairs.

"I want to go too," I said putting my hand on the man named Shane's shoulder. He turned and looked at me with a look that shot right through me, "We don't need anyone slowing us down."

"Then I won't be a problem."

"Stay here," he said turning his back to me, "We got this."

"I want to help."

"What can you do?" he asked looking at me again from head to toe.

"She brought me home," Sophia said in almost a whisper, "She killed a mean man that tried to hurt me. And she killed a walker and brought me back to mama."

"And she took Daryl down," Dale said placing a hand on Sophia. I had the feeling she didn't talk too much of anyone, and I smiled at her to let her know that she did good. "Fine," Shane said walking away, "Then let's go."

I followed them to Otis' truck, and when we got there, instead of sitting squished in the middle, I sat in the bed of the truck, to Shane's dismay. Otis didn't really seem to mind. On the ride there, Otis filled me in on what happened, and how he shot Lori and Rick's son, Carl. I watched as Shane tried to tune out the conversation, but I didn't ask him anything about it.

When we reached the place that we were heading to, Shane told me that this use to be a medical camp for the wounded, but it was soon over taken by walkers. I nodded as Otis and Shane told me the medical supplies that we needed. I told them that I knew almost all of the things that they were talking about, and all they had to do was tell me where they were and I would help them in any way that I could. We parked the truck a little distance away so not to attract any unwelcomed visitors.

Otis and Shane created a distraction and we ran into the place where we assumed the medical supplies would be. Otis and Shane and I packed our bags full of supplies and we were ready to make our escape. Otis reached for the door, and before I could tell him to wait and check first, he was outside, and all eyes were on us. "Run," I said taking off. I jumped over the stairs and landed on my feet as Shane and Otis followed behind me.

After that, everything was such a blur. We all got separated at one point, however, when we met back up, Shane was limping. I offered to take his bag as we ran, but he gave me this look that said he would rather die. I had no time to get angry with him. I shouted over the moans to Otis telling him that I was going to run to the truck and get it started. I offered one more time to take Shane's things, but he yelled at me to go, so I did. It was still a little bit back to Otis' truck, but when I got there, I put the stuff into the back of the truck and started the engine. I threw it into drive and raced back to the boys. But, when I got there, Shane was limping alone. "Where's Otis?" I yelled throwing the passenger side door open.

"He got bit! Go!" Shane yelled as some walkers walked past the group that was surrounding something. I saw that Shane had both bags, and even though every fiber of my being was telling me that no man gets left behind, I knew there was no reason in sticking around, so I floored it and we were off.

When we were away from the walkers, I looked over at Shane. "What happened?" I asked softly.

"A walker surprised him and he went down. He gave me his things and told me to go," Shane said looking out the window. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye and saw something that hadn't been there. There was a patch of hair missing on the left side of his head. I threw on the brakes and pointed my gun at his head. "The truth," I said holding the gun to the side of his head, "Now."

"I am tellin' you the truth. He got bit and I took off."

"Then what happened to the side of your head?" I asked coldly. I was trained to detect lies, and everything about this man screamed that he was lying. "What do ya' want me to tell ya'?" he snapped looking at me.

"Is that a bite?" I asked not moving the gun.

"No," he said in a matter-o-factly way, "My hair got caught on a fence I jumped." I looked closer and could tell that it wasn't a bite.

"Tell me what really happened Shane. I know Otis didn't just go down."

"I told ya' what happened. Now let's get this stuff back to Carl before he dies too."

"Cualquier cosa que diga agujero del culo," I said as I started driving again as I put the gun on my lap.

"What did you say," he asked me more confused then angry.

"Forget it," I said driving faster.

"Tell me," he said putting his hand on my knee. I slammed on the brakes and grabbed the gun and pointed at his crotch. "I don't know what the hell your problem is, but if you EVER touch me again, I will not be afraid to hurt you. You do not touch me, and you do not tell me what to do. Understood?" I asked clicking the gun's safety off.

"You know you should never point a gun unless you plan on using it," he said picking his hand up to grab the gun. In one swift movement I pointed it just past his head and pulled the trigger. The bullet shot off out open window. Shane turned white for a moment and stopped moving. "Also," I said putting the gun between my legs after switching the safety back on, "I don't bluff." Shane nodded and moved further away from me. I smiled inwardly. I didn't take shit from anyone, and he was going to learn that. "Idiota," I said under my breath, and this time he didn't say anything.

It took us a while to get back to the farm considering none of us knew this area very well, but we finally made it back. When we did, almost everyone was waiting outside for us. They took everything from us and hurried inside. This time I followed. Shane sat outside and talked to an older man about Otis while I looked at a man that looked as if he should be dead. "What's wrong with him?" I asked Maggie.

"He's been giving his son his blood all day," she said bringing him water, "I'm afraid he'll die if he keeps this up."

"Then use mine," I said sitting down at the kitchen table next to the man. He just looked at me. "What blood type are you?" I heard the old farm man Hershel ask as he entered the room.

"Doesn't matter," I said offering up my arm, "I'm type O. Universal."

"Ok then," Hershel said walking over to me, "Let's get you set up."

"Actually," I said looking at him, "Do you mind if I do it?"

"You know how?" he asked looking at me. I nodded as I took the IV and set it up in my arm. Bright red blood started running into the bag that he had ready. "Thank you," a drained man I assumed was Rick said. Lori, his wife, walked up behind him and smiled softly at me. I nodded and focused on the fluid running out of my arm. After I filled up two bags of blood, Hershel said that I could stop for now. Rick was still drinking water and trying to eat. I looked at him with pity, I had no idea how much he'd given, but I felt fine other then that.

It didn't seem long after that, when Hershel came in and said that the surgery was done and it was all up to Carl to pull through now. Lori and Rick went to the room to stay with their son, and a few minutes later, Rick asked me to come back to see his son. I felt awkward, but I couldn't resist. When I walked in there, I saw the small boy on the bed. He was soaked with sweat and he still looked like he was in pain. He reminded me of my brother when we were growing up with his dark hair and his tiny frame. If he lived, who knew who he would become. I stayed there long enough for Sophia and Carol to come see him, and when they finished, I left with them.

I sat with Sophia and her mother on the porch while we waited for Carl to wake up. Dale spent his time talking to Hershel, and Glen stayed around Maggie. Shane had been up in the bathroom taking a shower while Daryl still hadn't resurfaced from the days hunt. T-Dog was sitting in the kitchen trying to feel better, and for once, it was peaceful.

I still felt off about the ordeal with Otis, but I didn't bring it up again. I knew it wasn't the right time. I didn't see Shane for the rest of the night, which was fine by me. That night I slept in the tent with Sophia and her mother. They slept together in their sleeping bag while I had opened mine up on the other side of Sophia and fell asleep listening to the bugs chirping.

(A/N- Hope you liked it! Reviews please!)


	5. Ch 5 White Liar

(A/N- Sorry that I haven't been updating as much as I would like, I haven't been feeling too well lately. I hope that this makes up for that.)

When I woke up, Sophia was in her mother's arms and they were both sound asleep. I quietly got dressed into my gray tank and cargo pants and boots and went outside. I zipped up the tent and then stood up and stretched out my arms and legs and looked around camp as I did so. The sun was hardly up yet, and no one seemed to be around. The birds were just starting to chirp, and there was still dew all over the grass. I tied up my hair into a bun again and cracked my back. I looked around the area where all the tents were and then noticed that one of them wasn't zipped up.

I remembered that tent to be Shane's from when he went to bed last night. I tilted my head to the side and saw that his tent was completely empty. 'Where could he be this early?' I thought to myself looking around to see if I could any sign of him. When I didn't see anyone moving, I looked down to the ground. The places that he had stepped on when he exited the tent were still visible in the wet grass, so I knew that he hadn't been gone long.

For some reason I felt that I needed to go find him. I don't know why, but it felt like the same urge to chase after Sophia. 'I don't know what's come over me,' I thought to myself as I followed the steps. I was constantly looking around to make sure that no one was watching me, and that there were no walkers. When I got to the edge of the forest, I looked around for Shane. The footsteps were getting fresher now, and when I looked up, I saw a figure moving in the trees. Automatically my hand went to the gun in my waist band as I hid behind the tree. But I relaxed the moment I realized it was Shane. He was pacing back and forth running his hands over his head again and again. Suddenly he turned and yelled as he punched a tree. He started shaking as he punched the tree three more times. I leaned against the tree and watched. Shane leaned his head against the tree as he slammed his hands which were balled into fists on the tree next to his head. He was shaking, but I couldn't tell if he was crying or not.

My feet were moving before I was thinking. I wasn't even sure what I was going to do. But as I walked up behind him I lightly put my hand on his shoulder. He spun around with a gun pointed at me. I hardly moved, every nerve in my body was telling me too fight back, but I just stood there with my hand out reached to him. "What are ya' doing here," he said lowering his gun.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said turning away from me. I reached out and grabbed his hand. "Shane," I said pulling his arm and stepping in front of him, "talk to me."

"What makes you think that I would ever talk to you?" he spat at me. I just looked at him. "I don't even know you!" he yelled. Again, I just stood there. "I don't know anything about you! Why should I talk to you?"

"Who else do you have to talk to?" I said holding his hand in both of mine.

"What do you want me to tell you?"

"Why don't you tell me about why you've been so anxious since the night Otis died?"

"What?" he said pushing me up against the tree, "You want me to tell you that I killed him? Well I didn't!" Shane's face was inches from mine, and every hair on my body was standing up. Everything I ever knew told me to fight back against this man that was digging his fingers into my arms. "Then what happened Shane?" I asked as calmly as I could.

"I shot him," Shane hissed at me, "I left him there to die. And so did you."

"I didn't know he was still alive," I whispered.

"You drove away, you left him there. You let him die!"

"Shane, you can't possibly blame me," I said looking at him in his eyes. They were scared and he was still shaking. "Don't' tell me what to do!" he yelled pulling back as he started pacing back and forth again.

"Shane, calm down," I said as I went to take a step forward. He stepped up to me and slammed his fist onto the tree next to my head. "Don't tell me what to do!" he yelled at me between clenched teeth. He pulled his gun out and held it to my head, "In fact, I should get rid of you too. What's to say you won't run back and tell everyone? You'll get me killed or thrown out of here. I should kill you right now," he said pressing the gun into my head harder.

"Don't threaten me," I said looking at him, "That's the last thing you want to do."

"What? You think because you're a girl I won't go through with it? You think that I won't kill you? Just because you beat up the red neck doesn't mean that you can do the same to me!"

"Put the gun down Shane," I said one more time. The gun clicked and my body took over. With my right hand I reached to grab the gun as I brought my knee up between his legs. The blow to his crotch knocked the air out of him, and the gun was now in my hand. I gripped his arm with my left hand and twisted his arm behind him as I forced him to the ground with my knee in his back. I had him lying on his chest as I sat on his back with the gun to his head. "Shane," I said leaning my head down to whisper to him, "I'm not telling anyone. You did what needed to be done so that you could live. If you wouldn't have done that, neither of you would have made it out, and Carl would've died." He was still catching his breath as I threw the gun across the area we were in. "I'm not telling anyone, but never threaten me again. I came out here to talk to you. You're right, you don't know anything about me, and I don't know much about you, but we are living together now, and we have to get along. I'm going to get up, and I am going to trust you not to do anything to me." As I said that I stood up and stood to his left side.

He looked at me with confusion, embarrassment, and hurt in his eyes. I offered my hand out to him, and for a moment, he looked at it like it was a snake, but he finally took it. I helped him to his feet and he just looked at me. "You're not going to tell anyone?" he asked after a long silent moment.

"No," I said still holding his hand.

"But I don't understand why not. I killed a man."

"I've killed men too," I said turning my back to him, "I will tell you something that no one else knows. You are trusting me with a secret, now I'm trusting you. I was in the marines for a long time. I enlisted when I was eighteen. I had my daughter when I was sixteen, and I still had no clue what I wanted with my life. My boyfriend and I weren't together, but he had her most of the time. She stayed with him while I was gone. After several years, I was taken from the US army by a company I had never heard of. They trained me to be an assassin. I was twenty-five and at the time, it seemed so unrealistic to me. I was able to see my daughter almost every other week after I was done training. My missions were usually simple and I was never gone for more then a week at a time. My daughter and I made up on lost time and became very close. When I was thirty, I wanted out. I was tired of killing, I still don't know how many people I have killed. But when I told the company, they took my daughter. They had me kill, or they would kill her. They had already killed her father. My best friend was in the same company as I was, but she died a week after they took my daughter." I turned to look at him, he was looking at me wide eyed and glancing back and forth to his gun, "You'll be dead before you reach it," I said pulling up the back of my shirt so he could see m y gun, "I'm not going to kill you Shane." He just nodded.

"Anyway," I said walking up to him, "When I lost her, I lost my mind. She was the only one I had left in the world, and I went after the company. I killed off an entire floor before I reached the elevator. When I got to the second floor, there was screaming and people were running. I stopped one of the doctors as he was running past me. I demanded him to tell me what was going on. He kept muttering about a woman brought back to life. And when I let go of him, she was standing right there. My best friend Allie was standing there with a missing arm and blood pooling out of her mouth. Her eyes were yellow and she limped toward me. I almost ran to her, but something made me stop and actually think. I knew she was dead, but I was seeing her moving. I yelled at the doctor who told me that she was contagious and there was no cure. Without a thought, I shot her in the head. Regular execution style, and she went down. I grabbed the doctor and pressed him against the wall and demanded him to tell me everything that he knew. People were yelling and screaming. They were being eaten alive. He told me that they were trying to find a way to make us immortal. To turn us into the ultimate weapon, and they were trying to find a way to bring the living back to life in case they could not find a way to keep us alive. But, he said that it went wrong. Once anyone was scratched, or bit, they were killed and would come back to life later and would wander around turning others and eating flesh. And as far as they knew, there was no cure. However, they were working on a drug to make you immune to the dead. I demanded him to show me where it was. With a gun held to his head, he showed me the only room that was untouched."

I stopped to take a breath. "He showed me where the drug was, but told me that he didn't know if it worked or not yet. I grabbed all that was there and put it in my pack. I told him to open the door so that we could go find my daughter, but as he did, one of the dead ran at him and bit his arm before I could shoot it. He begged me to kill him, so I shot him. It was the least I could do. I ran out over bodies, both living and dead, until I hit the elevator. I hoped that these things weren't smart enough to use it. When I got to the top floor, I was lucky enough to find it empty. I just knew that my daughter was up there. There were papers everywhere, but no people. I looked through all the rooms when I heard someone crying. In a janitors closet was the receptionist. I picked her up and demanded her to take me to my daughter. She was crying loudly, and I was afraid that if she kept it up, someone would hear. I slapped her hard across her face, and she snapped out of it temporarily. She took me to a room in the back of the level and told me that this was where they kept everyone. I made her go in first, and when she opened the door, she screamed and took off. Everyone inside was dead, but alive. I moved to the side as she ran and they chased after her. I almost felt sorry for the dumb bitch. I watched them and looked for my daughter. I was relieved to see she wasn't there. When they were all out of the room, I took a step in and look around. I heard a small voice call to me. She kept saying mommy, over and over. In the back corner of the room, under tables and chairs, I found my daughter. I closed the door behind me, and locked it and then ran to her. She was crying so hard. When I pulled her out, she screamed. Her left leg was missing. Well," I paused to try and steady my breathing.

"You don't have to talk," Shane said putting his hands on my shoulders.

"Please, let me finish, I've never talk to anyone about this."

"Ok," he said holding my shoulders firmly.

"Her leg wasn't amputated; it looked as if someone, or something, had chewed it off. She was so pale. I held her to my chest as we both cried. She kept saying she loved me and she was so happy that I was there because that meant everything was going to be ok. The more she talked, the quieter she got. She started to go limp in my arms, and I remembered the drug. I took one out and stuck her in the neck with it. She didn't even flinch. Her eyes were hardly open, and her breathing was shallow. She smiled and said to me, "Don't worry mommy. I'll always be with you. I'll get better soon. And you and me and daddy, we'll live together," and then," I said almost in tears, "She died. I sat there and cried. I had never cried like that before. And just when I was about to walk away, she started moving. Her eyes opened and she looked at me. But her eyes were glazed over with this yellow color. She reached out for me, and my body reacted. I jumped back and she began to crawl towards me. I knew this wasn't my daughter anymore. But as I pointed the gun at her head, I started to shake. I've killed families before, people of all ages. But this was my daughter at one point. And the hardest thing I ever did, was pull the trigger. So you might have shot Otis and left him behind. But I've killed for reasons I didn't even know. I just did what I was told. They could've been innocent. But I still did it. I even killed my own daughter. The place that hired me, was ground zero for the mess you see now."

"Maria," he whispered pulling me into a hug. My body went stiff and I almost reached for my gun. But after a second, I reached around him and hugged him. For the first time since my daughter died, I cried. Shane just held me tight, and for a moment I thought he was crying to, but I realized that he was just shaking from me shaking. We sat down, and he continued to hold me. We sat there in silence as the world went on around us. We watched animals walk by and watched as the people in camp began to wake up.

When I stopped crying, he looked at me and smiled. It was the first time I'd since a true smile on his face. His eyes even lit up as he said, "Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for listening and taking. This is nothing like me. I think I was just under so much stress from different things, that when you were here, I snapped. And I'm happy it was you. Anyone else would tell." But, as he said that Lori walked by where we were sitting, and Shane stopped talking. His body went rigid as he watched her, and his smile went away. "Shane?" I asked looking at him.

"I have to go," he said moving me so he could stand up.

"Where?" I tried to ask, but he was already walking away. "Damn," I said out loud. 'I really thought I was getting through to him,' I thought in my head as I stood up and walked out. The sun was high in the sky and Sophia ran over to me and hugged me. I smiled as everyone said their good mornings and went on with what they were doing. It almost seemed normal. Dale was with Andrea, Daryl had left to go hunting and was teaching one of the boys that lived on the farm how to hunt properly, which surprised everyone. Glen was with Maggie all the time, and Rick and Lori were inside now with Carl. Sophia and her mother went to the fire for breakfast, and T-Dog was talking with Dale and Andrea Hershel and Maggie's sister, whose name I hadn't learned yet. As I looked around at how happy everyone was, and how they were getting use to things, I stopped and wondered where Shane fit in. Everyone had their own 'family' and yet, Shane was alone. Maybe that was why he left.

I was sure there was more to it, but before I could think any further, Sophia was waving me over for breakfast.

(A/N- Let me know what you think!)


	6. Ch 6 Alone With You

(I do not own any characters or anything else from the Walking Dead. I hope you enjoy the story so far and I hope that you continue to like it. As for the show, I am excited for the episode tonight, but I feel like they might be over doing the blood and gore. And is it just me, or does it seem like everyone is slowly going crazy? Read and review please, the more reviews I get, the more I right because I feel like people actually like reading this!)

I walked over to an eager Sophia who was just so happy that she was with her mom eating real food again. She told me how long it had been since she had fruit and vegetables. Carol laughed at her daughter's enthusiasm, but I knew that she would have eaten dirt if it would've meant that she would be able to be with her daughter again. Carol smiled, but I could tell that she was watching her daughter no matter where she was. Even when Sophia was with me, Carol never let her out of her sights, and when Sophia did manage to disappear for a minute, the panic in Carol's eyes was very clear. I know that it would take a long time, if ever, before Carol would ever be comfortable enough for her to stop watching her daughter like a hawk. I mean it was understandable for Carol to act that way towards her only child, but it was also making Lori very nervous about Carl. When Carol would get up to look for Sophia, Lori would tense up and look for Carl. It was mother's instinct, and I found myself doing the same thing for Sophia that Carol was doing. I didn't need to be so obvious about it as Carol, but I was definitely watching out for Sophia. Anytime Sophia wasn't next to me I was using my other senses to figure out where she was.

After breakfast, I helped Carl and Lori wash and dry dishes and clean the clothes around camp while Andrea sat on top of the RV with Dale by her side. T-Dog was helping chop wood with Glen; while Daryl was still gone in the woods with the boy that Hershel's daughter was married to. Maggie and her sister would come outside every now and then bringing water out to the boys and sometimes to us. Hershel stayed inside mostly, and every now and then Dale would go in and they would talk about different things that older men talk about. I never really cared to figure out what it was they were talking about. However, lately, Dale seemed to be going to talk to Hershel more frequently, and when he would return, he looked troubled. I didn't bother to ask him what was going on, mostly because I knew that if it was something important, Dale would talk to me about it. He had already told me that he felt he could trust me. We talked about the different things that had happened since the group met. He told me about his wife, and about Andrea and Amy. He told me how Shane and Lori had a thing before Rick came back, and I didn't say anything out loud, but I thought that maybe that was the reason Shane had acted so strangely today. He told me how Carl had gotten shot, and how lucky it was that I had been around. He told me about Meryl and Daryl and how they had left Meryl on a building somewhere, but when they went back he was gone. He told me how Glen found out the Lori was pregnant, and how he thought that Shane had killed Odis and how dangerous he thought the Shane was. He even told me about Carol's dead husband and what had happened at the CDC and the other members that had died. When I asked Dale why he was telling me all of this he just smiled and said that he felt that he could trust me. That he thought that I would do anything to protect Sophia, and with the fighting skills that he had seen, he thought that I was a person that he would be able to communicate easily with. But I thought that he was trying to get me to feel as if I was close to these people that way I would stay. I didn't voice that thought though.

I knew that I couldn't stay with the group. Something about them just made me feel off, or maybe it was the farm. But something about the place made me feel as if I wasn't safe.

After finishing the chores around the camp, I told Carol that I was going for a walk, and I told Andrea to make sure that she didn't shoot at me when I came back. She just laughed and said that she didn't mean to shoot Daryl that one time, he just looked like a walker, and as long as I don't look like him, she wouldn't shoot me. I smiled and walked off into the direction that Shane had gone earlier.

I hadn't seen him all day, and I was beginning to wonder if he was ok. I circled the wooded area because I had seen broken twigs and sticks that made it look as if someone had passed through there earlier. The further I followed the small broken twigs and crushed leaves and grass, the more obvious it was to me that someone had just recently been there. I reached back to make sure that I had my gun in case it wasn't Shane. I looked around one of the trees and saw Shane walking back and forth. He looked just like a caged animal. So I knew he wasn't paying attention when a walker started coming up from behind him. My fingers flexed around my gun but then I thought that my sword would be quieter. I slowly and quietly crept forwards quietly, sword drawn. Shane was looking through the trees in front of him, the walker was looking at Shane, and I was looking at the walker. Right as Shane turned around I brought my katana down on the walker's head. Shane gasped and jumped backwards and reached for his gun.

"It's ok Shane, it's just me."

"What are you doin' here?"

"I came looking for you. I was worried that something happened to you."

"Like it would matter if it did."

"It would."

"What would you know? You don't know me."

"No. I don't. So why don't you tell me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm the only one who wants to take her time to get to know you. You're alone. You're upset. You feel like you don't belong. And now, you feel like you are going crazy." When I finished saying that, he just looked at me. We both knew that I was right and that he was slowly losing what made him sane. "So talk to me Shane. Let someone close to you."

"You don't know shit. You're just a bitch who couldn't even save your own daughter," he said turning his back to me and walking away as he spat on the ground. I drew my katana and rushed him pinning him up to a tree after spinning him around. I held the katana to his neck and pressed up to him so that I was in his face. "Don't you ever fucking talk about my daughter," I hissed at him pressing the knife into his neck enough to draw a bit of blood, "Ever." He just looked at me. I knew he was scared but I didn't care. I trust him enough to tell him something to make him feel better and he turned around and did this. No. I felt his hands on my hips, but I didn't push him away. I pushed a bit harder on his neck and felt his fingers dig into my hips, so I relaxed it. I pulled the katana away enough so that it wasn't hurting any more, and said, "Let go Shane."

"No," he said pulling me closer and wrapping his arms tighter around me, "I'm sorry. You're right, I'm losing my mind and I don't know what to do. I don't know what I am doing anymore." I wrapped my arms around his neck as he rested his head on my shoulder and tried to steady his breathing. "It's alright, I'm here now. You can just be you." And with that, he did something that I never thought that a man like Shane would do. He cried. He just broke down on my shoulder so much so that we were both kneeling on the ground as I tried to support his weight. "Shhh," I said trying to sooth him. I knew that this had to be hard for him, so I just held him tighter. I knew that the Lori thing was messing with him, and the world ending wasn't helping.

After a few minutes Shane sat back and looked at me. I smiled at him and caressed his cheek with my hand. Shane just looked me in the eyes and leaned forward. I knew what he wanted, I was afraid for his sanity to fight back, but I knew that it wouldn't be right. Yet every fiber in my being told me to let him do it. He leaned forwards and I closed my eyes and then I felt his warm lips on mine. It started off gentle, but then his hands were pushing back onto the ground and soon they were roaming everywhere on my body. The kiss grew more passionate but rougher at the same time. I ran my hands over his newly shaved head and dragged my nails over his shoulders and down his back.

We kissed like that for a while, but when I felt him starting to grind his hips onto mine I pushed him back a little. "No Shane. Not here and not like this." With that being said he sat up very fast and just looked at me. The look in his eye told me everything that I needed to know. I knew that he wanted to do that, but he was scared to at the same time. He didn't know who he was or what he was doing anymore, but he knew that he felt a connection to me and that worried him. I knew that the last girl, Lori, had basically killed him. I didn't want to do the same thing.

"What do you say we head back to camp?" I said standing up and straightening my clothes. I reached my hand out to him and let him take it and helped him to stand up. He helped my brush the grass and leaves off of my clothes before we started walking side by side back to camp.


	7. Ch 7 Just a Kiss Good Night

(Thanks for the reviews, sorry it's been forever for me to update, it's just I've been going through a really hard time. I will try to do more, but no promises. Hope I haven't lost anyone. R&R please!)

As we walked out from the trees Carol glanced up at us from where she was doing her chores. She looked confused for a moment, but then smiled at me and continued on with her work. Shane leaned over to me and said, "I'm going to go get some work done." And with that said he walked away. I stood there and watched him go and when he was out of my sight I turned and walked over to where Sophia was sitting and drawing with some pens and notebook paper. I sat down across from her and picked up a piece of paper. I tore it once and folded it several times turning it into a lotus flower. The two watched me as I set it back on the table. "How did you do that?" Sophia asked me

"It's beautiful. What kind of flower is it?" Sophia asked.

"A lotus flower," Carol said smiling as she rested her hands on Sophia's shoulders, "When I grew up my neighbor has a tree that grew flowers like this. They were so beautiful. But they didn't last very long. They would bloom and then the petals would fall from the tree with a small breeze and they would scatter across the ground. I use to get so sad, but they made the yard look beautiful." I smiled as I listened to Carol talk about when she was growing up. "Can you teach us how to make them?" Sophia asked looking back to me.

"Sure," I said letting my hair down and shaking it while I ran my hand through it.

"You hair is beautiful Maria," Carol said sitting down next to Sophia and helped me fold some of the paper so that it was in near perfect squares. We had about twenty sheets of paper and we practiced until each piece was a perfect flower. When we finished Sophia looked at all of her flowers and her face lit up. She was so please with what she had made. "Oh Sophia," Carol said, "They are beautiful." Sophia nodded her head and smiled ever bigger. "Why don't you go put them in your tent before they get ruined and then we can get ready to have lunch?"

"Ok!" Sophia said standing up with her mother and giving me a hug before carefully taking all the flowers but one to her tent.

"Chica dulce," I said standing up with the flower in my hand.

"No," she said smiling at me, "That one is for you. Thank you!" and with that being said she turned and walked side by side with her mother back to their tent. I cleared off the scraps of paper on the table with the pens and went to put them back into the RV.

When I opened the door I looked around but didn't see Dale anywhere. Thinking he was off somewhere talking to someone the way only Dale could, I put the scraps and pens away and then went to the bathroom and looked at my hair in the mirror. It had been a while since I had actually been able to wash out my hair, and since there was no one in the RV I decided to hurry up and wash my hair. I grabbed some shampoo out of the cabinet and gathered all my hair into the sink. I wet it all and started to put some shampoo in my hands and massage it all through my hair. After making sure that I had gotten the shampoo everywhere in my hair, I began to wash it out. I started at the top and tried to rinse it out but after the third rinse I could still feel the shampoo in my hair. I sighed and then felt hands on my hips. I jerked my head back and felt the water go flying. "Wo!" I heard a man's voice as he laughed.

"Shane!" I said turning trying to get my hair back into the sink before making a bigger mess then I already had, "What are you doing here?"

"Well everyone else is outside and I heard the water in here. Thought I'd come see what was going on. Need a hand?" he said smiling down at me as I looked up at him from under my hair.

"Sure? I just need to rinse the rest of the soap out."

"Guess it's a good thing that I wore short sleeves today," he chuckled as I felt his hands start working their way through my hair. I watched as the suds flowed down from my hair and swirl down the drain. His hands carefully worked through my hair from the back of my scalp and to the front making sure that he rinsed it all out. "Alright," he said, "now hold on I'm going to get a towel." I heard him looking around as I rung out my hair trying to get as much water as I could out of my hair.

I felt Shane against my side before I felt the towel on my hair. I stiffened at the contact and reached my hands up to the towel. My hands brushed against his for the briefest moment before I felt him move and listened as he leaned against the wall next to me. I towel dried my hair the best I could and then folded it inside the towel before twisting the towel around it and standing up. I cracked my back as I stood up and twisted so that my shoulders popped also. "Well that sounds good," Shane chuckled at me,

"Yeah well my hair is a lot heavier when it's washed," I said smiling at him. I exited the bathroom and Shane followed after me. I sat down on the small bed and pulled a comb out of one of my pockets. I took the towel down so that it was around my neck attempting to keep my shirt dry. I divided my hair the best I could since I didn't have conditioner and the knots in my hair were horrid. I started with a section in the front and started at the bottom and worked my way up. Shane stood there and watched as I brushed out my hair. "You wanta help with this too?" I asked jokingly. And the next thing I knew his hand was on mine taking the comb out of my hand. "Shane," I said turning to look at him, "I was kidding. You don't have to." He just smiled and finished the section I had been working on. When he finished that section, he sat on the bed behind me with one of his legs on either side of mine. I rested my elbows on his knees as I played with the ends of my hair. I knew that it was going to take a while for him to get through all the hair so I started day dreaming.

"Hello? Maria, are you in there?" I shook my head and turned to see Shane inches from my face with a smirk on his lips.

"Yeah?" I choked out.

"All done," he said with a chuckle as he ran his hand through my hair. He put his hand on the top of my head again and started massaging my scalp. I closed my eyes and a moan escaped my lips. His touch felt so good. I wasn't use to someone playing with my hair the way that he was. He did this several times, starting on to top of my head and would massage until he reached my neck and then he would run his hand through my hair. I leaned against him with my eyes closed and just relaxed. After a few minutes I felt his hand pause at my neck and then continued across to my shoulder. He shifted and brought both his hands to my shoulders. He spent some time there and I found myself trying to remember to breathe as his hands slowly worked down from my shoulders to my back and lower still to my waist. As his one hand worked on my back his other moved my hair to the side and as his hand moved down to join the other on my back I felt his lips on my neck. "Shane," I moaned out as one of my hands went to the back of his head and my other hand rubbed his leg. I felt his teeth nibbling on my neck when his tongue wasn't tracing circles. He bit a little and I gasped and gripped his thigh a little harder. This time he moaned and his hands shifted to my stomach. I tilted my head back giving him more access as I started scratching the back of his head and massaging his thigh. I felt his hands moving slowly up my stomach and when his hands cupped my breasts I froze. "What's wrong," Shane said in a very deep voice.

"I don't know if we should go any further Shane," I said bring my hands to his wrists.

"Why not?" he asked still kissing my neck and trying to rub my breasts.

"Well for one," I tried saying but a moan slipped out as his fingers brushed against my hardened nipple.

"What's that?"

"I said for one…"

"No," he chuckled deeply, "This." He said running his fingers over my nipple again eliciting another moan from me. "Is this why I think it is?" I felt him smirk against my neck.

"Yes," I moaned out as he tugged, "They are pierced."

"And you like when they are tugged on like this," he said tugging on it just to prove his point, "Don't you?" As if to answer him I let out a throaty moan. Both of his hands started rubbing my breasts again and tugged on the nipple rings. "Shane. Shane. Shane!"

"What," he said his voice even deeper.

"What if someone comes in?"

"Come on!" he said getting frustrated.

"Besides, we hardly know each other."

"It's the end of the world. What do you need to know? I am a living breathing man and you are a living breathing woman!"

"Shane," I said pushing his hands down and turning to face him. I put my hands on his face so that I was holding him. "Shane, we just met each other. We don't need to ruin what we have right now with things getting bad if we go further right now."

"That's ridiculous," Shane started.

"No Shane, you need to respect me. And I'm not ready for this. Ok?"

He looked like he was about to argue but then sighed and raised his hands in the air as a sign of forfeit. "Fine," he said.

"Thank you," I said leaning forward and brushing a light kiss on his lips and then stood up. He followed after me. I left the towel on the table to dry as I played with my hair trying to get it to dry. Shane helped me set up for a small lunch for whoever was outside and after we were set up the heat of the day had dried out my hair so I tied it up in a bun.

When everything was set Sophia and her mom sat down across from me and Shane sat next to me. "You know," Shane started smiling at me, "I like your hair down better."

"I do too," Sophia said meekly. I smiled, reached up, and shook out my hair. I fell in waves past over my shoulders and down my back.

"Much better," Shane said smiling as he took my hand that was resting on my lap. I smiled at him and squeezed his hand.

(Well thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed it. If ya did…let me know! ^_^ I'll try to update more! Sorry! R&R)


	8. Ch 8 Eating Me Away

(A/N – I just want to thank my readers that put up with me disappearing all the time. I'm so sorry but I just get so busy. On the upside it gives me more time to think about what I am going to write.)

After we finished eating, Carol and I stood up and went to clean up the mess we had made when Shane stood and took the things from Carol with a smile. "Don't worry about it Carol," he said with a smile, "I can do it. Go spend some time with your daughter."

"Oh Shane, its fine," Carol said blushing she wasn't use to people, especially men, doing things for her.

"Go on now," he said with a smile.

I smiled as I watched Shane and Carol. Finally Carol gave in and walked away with her arm around her daughter's shoulder. "What?" Shane asked turning to face me.

"That was cute," I teased him while putting my hand on my hip and cocking my head to the side.

"Don't you start with me sweetheart," he said sticking his chin out and walking past me. I stuck my foot out and he tripped over it almost dropping the dishes and pots and pans. "Oh that's it," he said with a blush across his face.

"Here," I laughed tossing him my dishes and running off towards the woods.

"Hey! Get back here!" he yelled after me juggling the dishes in his arms. I heard some laughter as I ran faster. When I knew I was out of sight of everyone at the camp I quickly climbed up a tree and made myself as small as possible. I waited for Shane to come through the trees, but the direction that I heard noise coming from was going towards camp not away from it. I knew it wasn't Shane, unless he had circled around at some point.

I slowed my breathing to try and hear better. That was when I realized that there were no birds chirping or animals around. I carefully pulled my gun out from where it was on my pants and waited. Whoever it was that was coming was walking slow and making a lot of noise. 'Please God, no. Not here. Not this close to camp,' I thought to myself. The noise got closer and then I heard some faster footsteps coming from the other side closer to camp. 'Shane!' I yelled in my head. I knew that if there was more the one walker, or a group of people, and I yelled it would only attract their attention more. I tried to get a look at the origin of both sounds, but they were still too far away.

However, by the noise the one was making I knew that it was either a walker, a heard, or an injured person. Either way, it could be bad. Finally I saw Shane's head behind a tree. I grabbed my knife out from my boot and threw it at the tree next to his head. He went to yell but then saw me up in the tree with a finger to my lips telling him to be silent. He nodded and pulled out his gun as I used my hands to sign that I heard something coming closer. He hid behind the tree as I looked to try to find the thing that was crashing through the trees. When I saw the walker I felt sick. It couldn't be more then two years old. He was wearing torn and bloody pajamas. It felt like I had something stuck in my throat as I raised my hand to show Shane there was only one. But then I saw more heads bobbing up and down from behind trees. I gasped in horror. There must have been fifty walkers coming towards us. But what made me freeze was the fact that they must have all been under the age of eighteen. They were all wearing matching uniforms. Some had backpacks on or dangling from arms that were almost torn off. Some were missing arms all together or parts of their clothes were they had been attacked by walkers. I motioned for Shane to start running as I carefully, but quickly jumped from tree branch to tree branch to where he was. He waited for me as I climbed down the tree. "I told you to run," I hissed at him as he grabbed my hand and we started running towards camp.

"You're crazy," was all he said. I glared at him and continued running. We made it to the farm and split up to find everyone. I got Carol and Sophia inside with Hershel's family and Lori. Hershel, Glen, T, Maggie, Rick, Shane, Daryl, Dale, Jimmy, Andrea and I were all standing by the outer gate of the farm waiting with weapons in hand and guns at the ready just in case. We didn't want to have to use them in case there were more walkers around. I looked at Shane and he nodded. I glanced at everyone else and slowly moved closer in the trees. I still couldn't see any of the walkers. I crept further with Daryl tailing me. I heard some sticks cracking and motioned for him to stop. We waited and waited as the sounds got louder and closer, but I could tell that it was only one. I motioned to him telling him that there was only one and he nodded and got his bow ready. This time, a little girl that looked a lot like Sophia walked out of the trees by herself. Her body was still completely intact other then the bite on her hand. Her mouth had blood dripping from it, her hair was all caked in mud and knotted and she had blood and dirt all over her uniform. Her left shoe was missing as she dragged her foot lamely behind her as she walked. Her backpack clung tightly to her back and it seemed to weigh her down a lot. Her eyes were wild and she growled every time a twig snapped beneath her. I knew that she wasn't human but that didn't make me feel any better. I thought about my daughter when she was that age in school and how much she loved it. I thought about Sophia and how this could have happened to her if I hadn't been there to save her. And I thought about the little girl's mother. Was she dead? Was she alive and missing her little girl? She was probably dead. But still… The thought was there none the less.

I choked back a sob and held my knife ready to throw it when I heard the rest of them. My grip on the bat in my other hand. I motioned Daryl to go back to the others quietly and he did as I followed behind him. I glanced back and saw that they hadn't caught onto our sent or heard us. I was really glad I took Daryl with me. He knew how to be quiet out here. When we reached the others Shane was pacing back and forth and the others were standing together talking nervously. Daryl and I ran up and told them what we saw. Maggie and Jimmy ran to get on their horses and met back up with us when the firs girl walker broke through the trees. She looked at us and head flew backwards as she let out a blood curdling growl and attempted to charge at us. She went straight at Glen who waited for her to reach him. I wasn't sure if it was his plan or if he was just as shook up as I was. I know when Shane and I told them no one was too excited about it. Obviously. When the girl was in arms distance of Glen, and I was about ready to step in, he impaled her head with the metal pipe that was broken off at the end into a jagged spear type shape. I nodded at him as he pulled it out of her head and got ready as the rest of the walkers came out from the woods. Everyone stopped breathing when they saw them. Hearing about them was one thing, seeing them was another thing. I cleared my throat making everyone jump. I looked at Shane and Daryl and we nodded as we started to walk up to the walkers. They were limping and stumbling towards us as fast as they could. Rick, Daryl, Shane and I were the first line of defense with Jimmy and Maggie ridding beside us. Hershel, T-dog, Glen and Andrea were right behind us with Dale on top of the RV to watch and cover us in case we needed extra gun power. I was the first to reach a walker. A little boy that came up to my chest with black hair that hung down in his face. I swung the bat and it caved in his head. As he hit the ground Shane and Rick took out two of their own as Daryl shot a few with his bow. Maggie and Jimmy rounded up the few that were spread out and killed them before they even got to the fence.

Everyone was killing walkers one by one without using their guns. We stayed close to each other, watching each other's back. I looked around after smashing in one last head of a small Hispanic girl to see everyone taking down their last walker or trying to catch their breath. They were all down. Every. Last. One. I put my hands on my knees and felt tears stinging my eyes as my necklace with my daughter's picture hung heavy around my neck. I heard Shane walking towards me from my left. I used the back of my hand to wipe away any tears that might have escaped, and I looked up at him. I tried to force a smile and I knew it failed. He frowned and started to move closer with his arms outstretched when I saw pure terror coat his face. I had no clue why as I saw him start to run with his mouth opening. For some reason I couldn't make out his words until I looked down in time to see a small walker wrapping its' hands around my ankle before sinking its teeth into my boot. I screamed and fell back wards onto another small body as I tried to kick my foot out of the walker's grip. Shane reached me then and plunged his knife deep into its skull.

He yanked its hands off of me and picked me up. I was too shocked to say anything as Rick and Hershel ran up to us. Shane rushed me into the RV with Hershel right behind him. Hershel was yelling at Maggie to go get anything she could find in case he needed to clean or do anything else to me to save my life. Shane put me down on the bed in the back and carefully removed my boot. He pulled my sock off and lifted my foot up to look at it. I just sat there unable to talk or move on my own he turned my foot side to side and ran his fingers over a spot that made me flinch. "Hershel," Shane almost whispered out. 'Oh no,' I thought in my head feeling a shiver run down my back. Shane stepped to the side showing Hershel the area that had made me flinch. "What's going on?" I whispered.

"Hold on darling," Hershel said to me as he tilted my foot slightly more into the light that was coming in through the window.

"Please tell me," I said louder.

"It's really red and it is already bruising. There are indents on your skin that resemble a mouth. But it doesn't look like it broke skin. You keep flinching when I move your ankle so you might have even twisted it, but I think that you'll be ok," Hershel said examining my foot more closely, "It's probably sore from the pressure of the bite and the way you twisted it when you fell. But honestly, I think you'll be just fine."

"Thank God," I heard Shane whisper out as he collapsed on the bed next to me with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. In fact it seemed that everyone that had gathered in the RV let out the breath that they had been holding, just as I had. And in that moment, I started crying. I cried like I hadn't cried since I lost my little girl. I held my head in my hands and just sobbed. It hurt my ribs with each breath but it felt so good to finally let everything out.

In the back of my mind I could vaguely hear Hershel and Dale getting everyone but Shane and I out of the RV. I almost can remember Hershel washing my foot and wrapping it as Shane moved to hold me in his arms. I wrapped my arms tightly around him and cried into his shoulder. He stroked my back with one hand while he took my hair down with his other hand and slowly massaged my scalp while brushing out my hair. I don't remember hearing Hershel walk out or close the door. I don't remember lying down with Shane in the bed. But when I woke up, I was laying there with Shane. His arms were wrapped around my and our legs were intertwined. I was sweating and when I went to move the covers, I noticed I was only wearing my bra and underwear while Shane was just in his pants. "Shane?" I croaked out in a hoarse voice. He sighed and pulled me closer to him. With his chest pressed against me, even in the heat, I felt comfort. I snuggled into him and watched him sleep for a minute before kissing his lips gently. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled down at me. "Feeling better?"

"Shane," I said blushing, "What happened last night?" I asked. And when he blushed and looked away I felt my heart sink.

(Thanks for reading! Sorry to keep you waiting! I hope you enjoyed and pleaseeeee let me know what you think! 3 )


	9. Ch 9 Blown Away

(A/N- So I am trying to get more chapters out while I have the time to! But I wanted to say thank you to shippolove844 for being the first to review and also to Padme400 for being so understanding. I'm glad that you are still keeping up with my story!)

"Shane," I said pushing myself away a little bit so that I could see him better, "What happened?"

"We didn't have sex," he said not looking me in the eyes, "if that's what you were thinking."

"Ok," I said cupping his face in my hands, "then why are we dressed like this?"

"Well," he said closing his eyes at my touch and pulling me back to him. He rolled onto his back and pulled me to follow so that my head was on his chest and my head was tucked under his chin. "After Hershel wrapped your ankle, he left and you were still crying really hard. I pulled you to lay down with my trying to get you to relax and stop crying. But when we laid down you started to kiss me and at first I went along with it."

"At first?"

"Yeah," he said hugging me to him, "But I remembered our talk about you not being ready. And I knew that you were only doing that because you were so stressed and I didn't want you to regret anything or you know… ruin what we have."

"Shane," I whispered as I traced random shapes on his chest with my finger.

"Yeah," he said kissing the top of my head.

"So… why aren't I dressed?"

"Well," he said and I could hear his heart speed up a little bit, "you were still kissing me and when I was trying to get you to stop you started taking your clothes off and well at that point I wasn't thinking so I let you and then I started to undress and when I pulled away to take my shirt off I looked at your face and you were still crying. And that's when I knew that I didn't want our first time together to be like that. So I held you close and after a minute you fell asleep."

"Oh Shane," I said moving so that I was on top of him using my elbows to hold up my upper body so that I could look him in the face. "Thank you," I said leaning in and kissing him.

"Why?"

"Just for being there and thinking about me like that. Thank you."

"Just doing my duty ma'am," he said smiling and pulling me in for another kiss. When I pulled away he flipped me over and pinned me to the bed. "But you have no idea how hard and frustrating it was to turn you down like that."

"I might know," I said smirking at him and grinding my hips up against his. He closed his eyes and his mouth formed a small o as he let out a gasp of air. I giggled and he opened his eye and it was my turn to gasp. His eyes were dark with lust and the smile that slowly spread across his face made me wonder if I had pushed him a little too far. "You better be careful sweat heart. You don't know what you do to me. But if you keep that up, you'll find out sooner then I want you to."

"Oh yeah?" I said almost daring him in a whisper.

"Maria," he said leaning forward and capturing my left ear lobe between his teeth and tugging on it. I gasped and when he released it he slowly kissed and nipped at my neck making me moan a little. "If you don't want me to rip off the little bit of clothes you are wearing and ravish you right here and now, you should really be careful."

"What if I want you to?" I asked holding the back of his head in my hands. I heard him growl from deep in his chest as he grabbed my hands and thrust them up above my head. As he leaned in and kissed me hard. He had my hands pinned so I couldn't even touch him as he assaulted my mouth, not that I would make him stop if I could move my hands. I wrapped my right leg around his hip and pulled him closer to where I wanted him. He moaned into the kiss as did I. He used his free hand to caress my side. I felt his hand go from my hip all the way up to my chest. When he placed his hand over my bra I gasped into his mouth. My nipples were hard and when his hand met them it made me arch my back into his grasp. "Shane," I moaned against his mouth. He growled and kissed me harder while playing with my piercing.

I moved my head trying to catch my breath as he moved to kiss and bite my neck. He moved down to my collar bone and then continued down my chest and he kissed the breast that he wasn't playing with. I arched more into him and he groaned as he used his teeth to pull my bra over my breast. His tongue started to tease my nipple making harder then it already was as I moaned at the foreign touch. It had been so long… he pulled my nipple into his mouth and sucked hard on it making me bite my lip to keep from moaning to loudly. When he finally let go of my hands they flew to his pants to undo the rest of his pants. He lifted himself up to help me, right as we heard a loud knock on the door.

We both jumped at the sudden unwelcomed noise. "Hello," he growled over his shoulder.

"I wanted to come check on Maria's bandages," we heard Hershel's voice come through the door. Shane's head fell onto my shoulder. I laughed and told Hershel that I was in the bathroom and to wait a minute. I moved out from under Shane and threw on my clothes from the day before and fixed my hair and straightened everything out as Shane laid on the bed with his arms under his head and his pants buttoned up again. I smiled at him as I limped over and opened the door. Hershel smiled at me and walked in. I sat down where there was a small table and two couch type things. Hershel asked Shane to go get some water so that he could properly clean the now bruised marks on my ankle.

While we waited for Shane to come back Hershel was telling me that I was going to have to stay off of my foot for a while. He thought that it could be twisted or sprained and he wanted to make sure that I didn't cause any real damage to it. We talked for a while about how everyone was doing and what they were doing with the bodies from yesterday's fight. Hershel told me that they were burning them right now and that's when Shane walked in with a bucket of water and a wash cloth. "I'm going to go help outside with the bodies. I'll see you later," he said smiling at me and walking out the door.

Hershel and I made small talk while he finished with my ankle. By the time he was done, Dale was walking in with some crutches. "Aw thanks Dale," I said smiling up at the man that everyone respected as a father figure.

"How are you feeling Maria," he said laying the crutches on the couch that I wasn't sitting on.

"My ankles a little sore," I said looking down at it and turning it several times to the right then to the left.

"I'm sure," Dale said.

"And it will be for a while if you don't take care of it," Hershel said standing up and dusting his hands off.

"Thank you Hershel," I said holding out my hand to shake his. He smiled and shook my hand. "Get better soon," he said and walked outside after saying good bye to Dale and I.

"Maria," Dale said sitting down. I knew that tone of voice only too well, it was his we-are-about-to-have-a-serious-talk voice.

"Yes Dale?" I sighed.

"I don't know how I feel about you being so close with Shane, none of us really trust him. I just think you should be careful."

"Thank you for your concern Dale, but it's really none of your business. If I wanted your opinion I would have asked for it. You don't trust him, fine. But I do."

"I just don't want you to get hurt, he's not mentally stable. I still think that his story with Odis doesn't add up right. I really think that he killed him."

"I think you should leave," I said then realized I was in his RV, "Never mind," I said standing up and using the crutches to talk out, "This is your RV. Thank you for letting me stay here over night. I will see you around. As for your accusations, keep them to yourself. Because honestly, it's none of your business. Stop sticking your nose in other people's business. Especially mine and Shane's. Good-bye."

"Maria," he started to say.

"Good-bye Dale, have a nice day," I said over my shoulder and walked out of the RV and over to where the guys were burning the bodies. Shane was helping Glen, T-dog, Jimmy and Andrea and Daryl with the bodies. I assumed that Rick was back in the house with Lori and Carl. Carol and Sophia were probably there too. I watched for a little while as they all burned the bodies. Shane saw me after a bit and wiped sweat from his forehead and waved to me. Glean and T waved too and then went back to work as Shane walked over to me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked smiling at me. For once, he didn't look hurt or confused. He actually looked happy, and I knew that it was rare to see him like this and I hoped that it would stay this way.

"I'm alright, thought I'd come check up on you boys," I said leaning up to kiss him. His lips tasted salty from the sweat but I didn't mind as he pulled me closer to him and kissed me hard making me drop the crutches and hold on tighter to him.

We finally pulled away when T and Glen started making cat calls and whistling. I laughed as Shane flicked them off and bent to hand me my crutches. When I was stable again I kissed his cheek and told him to come see me later and we could go get cleaned up. He smiled and winked before walking back to the guys. I saw Glen and T giving him a hard time before I walked away, and I just laughed. It was nice to be like this. It was almost like the end of the world wasn't happening. I sighed at that thought. Leave it to me to kill my own mood.

I did my best to walk back to the house to see how Carl and Sophia were doing. When I walked in the door Sophia was the first to great me. "Are you ok!" she shouted in tears. I was shocked; I had never heard her that loud. Ever. "Yes darling," I said smoothing her hair, "I am just fine."

"I was so scared," she said crying as Carol and Lori came around the corner. They both hugged me. Carol was in tears while Lori seemed as if she was trying not to cry. I asked about Carl and we all went to check up on him. He was awake, but just long enough for us to say hi and ask how he felt. Then he fell back to sleep. 'Poor kid,' I thought to myself. Lori sat down in a chair next to Carl's bed when Rick came in and stood beside her with his hands on her shoulders. Carol Sophia and I walked out to go see if we could help with dinner or lunch depending on what we were having to eat.

When we got to the kitchen we found out that because Glen and Maggie hadn't done a food run yesterday, we were only going to have enough for dinner. So Sophia and I peeled potatoes as Carol Maggie and her sister cooked other foods on the stove. We were having a good time until Glen came running in. "Maria," he said almost out of breath, "I need to talk to you."

"Right now?" I asked confused.

"Yes," he said walking over to me and helping me up.

"I'll be right back," I told Sophia and Glen and I walked out of the house and over to the RV. He started pacing back and forth in front of the door.

"Glen," I said grabbing his shoulders, "what is going on?"

"Walkers," he whispered turning to face me with nothing but horror on his face.

"Where?" I said feeling the hair on the back of my neck stand up on end.

"In the barn."

(Thank you for reading! I hope you like it! Can't wait for tomorrow's episode to come on! Let me know what you thought about this please!)


	10. Ch 10 Will Tomorrow Be To Late

(A/N - So I got more reviews (by one) on this story then the other (A Family in One Day) so I am going to write more in this one tonight and if I finish in time I'll work on the other one. Thanks again to my reviewers; EdwardCullenfan2009, Padme4000 and shippoelove844 who help motivate me to write. Enjoy!)

"Hay lo que en dónde?" I asked.

"Um…?" he tilted his head staring at me, "In English please." I hadn't even realized that I had spoken in Spanish. "Sorry," I said putting my hand to my temple and trying again, "There are what in where?"

"I was by the barn and I heard something coming from it, so I went to look inside thinking maybe someone was hurt. Cause if they were I was going to help. But I," he kept going.

"Glen!" I hissed at him.

"Right," he said blushing a little, "Well when I looked in I saw a bunch of walkers. I don't even know how many."

"Am I the first one you've told?" I whispered to him.

"Yea," he said looking around nervously.

"We need to keep this quiet but we need to get this taken care of."

"What do you mean? Kill them?"

"I don't know. Preferably. But we should have someone talk to Hershel and we can't tell Rick about it, he's too busy with Carl and Lori."

"I was thinking about telling Dale, but I thought I could tell you first."

"That's a good idea; do you know where he is?"

"I'm right here," Dale said opening the RV door. Glen and I both jumped. "So do we need to repeat the entire thing? But I am assuming you were listening to all of it."

"What kind of a man do you take me for?" Dale asked looking taken back. I cocked my head to the side and put my hands on my hips lifting my eye brows. "Ok," he said, "Yes I heard you. I'll talk to Hershel. Maybe I can understand what's going on before we tell others and let a panic take over."

"Tonight Dale," I said.

"Right now," Dale nodded in agreement. Glen just stood there quietly and messing with his hat in his hands. A habit I learned he only did when he was nervous or wanted to say something. "What is it Glen," I said turning to him.

"Could you not mention that you found out through me?" Glen asked and Dale and I just gave him a strange look.

"What aren't you telling us Glen?" Dale asked putting a hand on Glen's shoulder. Glen just turned a bright red.

"Glen?" I said his name almost knowing what he was going to say, "What were you doing all the way over by the barn?" Glen started messing with his hat even more and turned a brighter red that I thought was possible.

"I um… I was… um… I was supposed to be meeting Maggie there," he mumbled under his breath. Dale gasped a little bit but I knew even he expected it. And it took everything I had not to start giggling. I covered my hand with my mouth, I should have been upset that he was jeopardizing the rest of our group by "sleeping with the boss' daughter," so to say. 'Our group,' I said in my head. When did I start saying that? I hadn't wanted to stay with these people, but the more time I spent with them the more they grew on me. People like Sophia and Carol who I loved so much. Glen who could make me laugh without trying. Dale, the father figure who I learned to love, even with his nose being in everyone's business. Rick; who kept everyone together even when he was trying to handle his family. T who was always able to keep me in a good mood, we never had a bad word towards each other. Daryl bugged me a bit, but I guess he did keep us together with his food. And then there was Shane, and he was probably one of the top reasons that I wanted to stay. I really cared for him. 'Love him,' popped into my head but I pushed that feeling far, far, far down. I didn't need more love. But that's what it was. Love for all of them. And I knew that after we got this walker situation under control, I would leave them.

That night at dinner Glen Dale and I would look at each other with an uneasy feeling that I am sure the entire table could feel. But we hadn't talked to each other since Glen had told us about what he had found and I know I was dying to know what Hershel had said to Dale. Finally I couldn't take it anymore; I got up and limped over to the RV. I needed to sit down and I figure if I was there that would be were Dale would come and I would be able to talk to him.

When the door opened I expected Dale or Glen, and hopped for Shane. But the person that walked in surprised me. "Andrea?" I said standing up as she walked up to me.

"What are you doing with Shane?"

"You too? That's really none of your business," I said really hoping that they didn't have a thing going on between them, but rationalizing that in a few days it wouldn't matter.

"I'm making it my business."

"Are you together?"

"No, but that doesn't mean that you can just walk in here and start playing with people's heads."

"I'm playing with people's heads?" I said almost laughing.

"Yes."

"Ha! Cariño, no tienes ni idea de lo que puedo hacer."

"Could you try to be normal?"

"Hun," I said walking right up to her so that I was inches from her face, "Trust me, you don't want me to mess with people's heads. I can turn everyone on you faster then you can think. There are things that I can do that would scare you worse then waking up next to a walker. Don't cross me. I will take you down. I love when someone challenges me." And before she could answer the door opened and Shane walked in. I smirked at her and walked up to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him, hard. He wrapped his one arm around me and the other one went up to my hair that I had let down. Andrea cleared her throat, but we ignored her. "Excuse me," she said almost in disbelief. Shane grunted a hello at her and shifted us further in, but gave Andrea room to leave. "I'm still here," she said when we continued making out. "So leave," Shane murmured against my lips as he lifted me around his hips. She let out a gasp and stomped out.

Shane and I chuckled before he leaned over and locked the door. "Shane?" I asked as he straightened up.

"We got interrupted," he said kissing my neck and pulling my hair back, "I want to finish what I started with you." I groaned as he bit my neck. This soooo wasn't the best time for this, but I really, really wanted it to be. And if I was going to go, this might be one of my last chances to be with a semi-sane person with a beating heart. I gripped his face with my hands and pulled him up to kiss me. He set me on the table and I could already feel him, hard as a rock, against my hip. I grabbed his pants by the belt loops and yanked him against me. I threw my head back and moaned as he rubbed against where I needed him most. He gasped and then chuckled. We started kissing again, but I wanted more. I ran my hands up under his shirt, feeling every sinewy muscle he had in his stomach, tracing his abs, up to his chest and his biceps. Then I traced my hands back down to run my fingers through the little patch of dark hair that disappeared into his pants. I yanked the belt off and almost popped the button off of his jeans. "Wooo," he said grabbing my hands and panting, "easy there."

"I want you," I whispered into his ear as I nibbled on his ear lobe. He growled low in his throat as his hands ripped my shirt off over my head and arms almost hurting me. He pulled me into a kiss that I knew would leave my lips swollen and his one hand held me to him while the other groped my chest playing with my nipple rings through the material. After a moment, his hand left my chest and trailed down my stomach and skimmed over the top of my right thigh. I moaned into his mouth and he yanked my hair back breaking this kiss so he could kiss and bite my neck down to my chest as his fingers rubbed lower and lower to where I wanted them to be. Finally he cupped my through my jeans and pressed hard. I grinded my hips into his hand moaning. He kissed me hard again as he kept rubbing me. I reached out and grabbed his hardness through his jeans tracing my fingers over it. He hissed quietly as he rested his forehead against mine. I smiled and kept doing what I was doing as he rubbed my faster and faster making me bight my lip to keep from moaning.

Right as he undid my button on my jeans a knock came on the door. "Who is it?" I asked in a hoarse voice.

"It's Glen," I heard a whisper. Shane rolled his eyes and I tried not to laugh. "What is it Glen?" I asked.

"Dale's on his way, he wanted to talk about the walkers in the barn."

"What?" Shane almost yelled.

"Shit! Maria who's in there with you?"

"What walkers?" Shane growled turning and opening the door wide. I grabbed my shirt and flipped it on before Glen could see. Glen just stood there and stared at Shane. "What walkers?" Shane spat at him.

"Um…. There's…. I talked to Maria and Dale… um today I… Dale was supposed to…."

"What's going on here?" I heard Dale's concerned voice come from behind Glen.

"Someone better start talking right now. What barn. What walkers. What the hell is going on her man." He said more then asked Dale.

"Who told him?" Dale looked at Glen and then in the RV at me.

"I guess technically I did," Glen said as he started playing with his hat again.

"I will ask again. What the fuck is going on here!"

"Shane," I said walking up and putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Tell me," he said turning to talk to me. Dale, Glen, Shane and I all went in the RV to fill Shane in.

"And why didn't you think it was a good idea to talk to me about this?" he said glaring at me.

"One," I said calmly, "I haven't seen you all day since you and the boys were working around the farm. And secondly, because Glen asked me not to say anything to anyone until Dale had a chance to talk to Hershel."

"And did Dale talk to Hershel?" Shane asked almost mockingly.

"Yes," Dale said obviously not very happy that Shane was here and that he was talking the way that he was.

"And…" Shane prompted.

"He thinks that they are just sick and that they can be cured. They are his family and friends. He feeds them and Odis use to put them in there before he…" Dale didn't finish that sentence and Shane and Dale just stared at each other.

"Anyway," I said putting my hand on Shane's, "I think I'll talk to Hershel tomorrow. And if things can't be figured out then…"

"Then I'll figure them out," Shane said and I saw his other hand twitch by his gun.

"Shane," I said turning to look at him, "If he thinks that these people can be cured, he still thinks there is a chance for them. They are his family and if you kill them… he might not let us stay here. We need to try to get him to see there is no other way. We can't just open fire on his family."

"They are fucking walkers!" he yelled.

"I know that, but he doesn't. Let me talk to him. Don't you think I can relate to him?" I asked as I pulled out my locket so that he could see it. His eyes grew and then he shut them. He put his elbows on the table and put his head in his hands as he sighed. He ran his fingers over his forehead and eyes. Then he turned to look at me. "You get til lunch tomorrow. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Got it?"

"Shane," I said, "I am going to try to convince a God loving man that everything he knows is wrong. It's going to take longer then that."

"Then dinner."

"Shane…"

"No! We aren't safe with them so close to us!"

"Shane we are never safe!" I screamed at him. That shut him up. He jolted up and I grabbed his hand. "Don't walk away mad," I pleaded, "Not with how we live now." He sighed and turned his hand to pull me up.

"Where are you going?" Dale asked.

"We are going to bed. Night," Shane muttered. Shane walked with me slowly because of my ankle to his tent. He opened it and let me climb in. "You want me to sleep in here?" I asked in disbelief.

"Only if you want to," he said sitting down and pulling his shirt off.

"I do," I said kicking off my boots, taking off my weapons and pulling off my shirt and pants and socks as Shane took off his pants and shoes and socks and got under the blankets.

"Good," he said as I crawled toward him in the darkness, "Cause I really want you too." I smiled as I got in the blankets next to him. I kissed him and turned my back to him. One of his arms was under my head as a pillow and the other was wrapped firmly around my stomach. I kissed the arm by my head and nuzzled into him. "Don't move your ass like that," he growled into my ear. It sent a shiver down my spine. "Why?" I asked quietly. He thrust his hips up against my ass and I felt how hard he was already and it shocked me. "Why not?" I asked again wiggling my hips back into him. He growled and used his hand to hold still.

"Because I am still mad that you didn't tell me and that you won't just let me take care of things."

"Can we just not talk about that tonight?"

"Yes," he said as he kissed my hair. I rolled over and pulled him to me and kissed him. We made out for a moment before he pulled me away. "You know that was the second time we were interrupted?"

"Yes," I said kissing his face, "don't let this be the third."

"As much as I would love to take my frustrations out on you in that way," he said turning me away from him and holding me to him securely, "When we finally do, I want it to be nice and romantic and everything that you would want from it. Not some make up fuck when I am still mad at you."

"But," I started.

"Shhh," he said, "Sleep. Tomorrow you have to turn around a man's entire world."

"Yeah," I said rolling my eyes, "No pressure. I'll sleep now." He chuckled and we fell asleep a few moments later.

(A/N – thank you for reading. Poor Shane and Maria… will they ever NOT be interrupted? Only you can decide! Review and tell me if you want them to be "intimate" or not ;) Seriously though, let me know if you guys would be ok reading that! If I do right one it will be soon! If not oh well! Either way let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! 3)


	11. Ch 11 Hard to Love

(A/N- Well I wish I would get a few more reviews… I really do like them *hint hint* lol anyway for those of you who only read this story, I have set up a photobucket and my name there is BeautifulDreamer93 and I've started to put pictures up of how I think my lead characters look. So check there every now and then! And please leave reviews! I love them so!)

When I woke up in the morning Shane was already gone. I was a little sad that he hadn't waited for me to wake up, but at the same time it gave me a minute to pull things together. I sat up and ran my fingers through my hair a few times before I put it back up into a braid. I was running conversations through my head when the zipper to the tent opened. I looked up as I slid my shirt on and Shane was walking in. "Morning," he said, his eyes were still glassy.

"Morning," I said pulling on my pants and socks, "I thought that you had gone out."

"Had to take a piss," he said lying down with his clothes still on. Obviously he wasn't a morning person. I smiled and waited for him to fall back asleep before kissing his forehead and walking out of the tent. The sun was hardly in the sky, but I was wide awake, and I knew that Hershel would be too since he lived on the farm. I looked around the camp and everything was so quiet. I took a deep breath and tried to figure the best way to talk to Hershel.

I walked without making a noise up to the front porch steps. I was wondering if I should knock or not because I didn't know who was up so I listened for a bit. When I didn't hear anyone moving around I decided to sit on the steps for a little and try to think a little bit more. I watched the sun rise and thought about my daughter. I missed her so much and Sophia reminded me of her so much. The pain that I usually felt in my stomach when I thought about my daughter was sharp and I wrapped my arms around myself and leaned forward. I missed her so much it literally hurt. But before I could sink deeper into my depression, I heard someone moving inside. I opened the door slowly and listened more. The footsteps were too heavy to be any of the girls and they even sounded heavier then Rick's. I hoped they were Hershel's as I called out trying to be quiet.

"Come on in," I heard Hershel call from the kitchen. I opened the door wide enough to let myself in and closed it quietly behind me. I was almost in the kitchen when I heard Hershel starting to make his way towards me, "I said come in." I smiled as he jumped seeing me in the door way of the kitchen. "Didn't mean to startle you," I said walking over to him and sitting on one of the chairs. He chuckled and walked to the sink with a glass and filled it with water. "Good mornin' Maria, what can I do for ya?" he asked sitting down across from me. I had gotten a lot closer to Hershel lately and I enjoyed our talks, but I knew this was one that we were not going to enjoy. "I wanted to talk to you about something, but do you think that we could go on a ride?"

"Sure," he said getting up, "I wanted to take the horses out, they've been sitting still for too long." I smiled at him and followed him out the door. We didn't talk on the way to the stables, or when we set up the horses. I climbed up with ease and waited for Hershel. There wasn't a path for the horses to walk on so we rode them out into the fields that Hershel had told me use to be filled with corn.

We walked them around for a while before I said anything. "Hershel," I said feeling my heart speed up a bit, "I don't know how to say this, so I am just going to say it."

"Alright," he said stopping his horse so that he could look at me. I did the same. "We know about the barn with the walk… er… I mean the infected in it."

"How did you find out about that?"

"Does it really matter Hershel? The group feels threatened by it and they asked me to talk to you about it. I have no clue what they want me to convince you to do. But I like living here. Carl is better now and its all thanks to you and I feel safe here. I don't want to leave but I feel like they will get out of that barn. As much as you want to believe that they are sick, Hershel, you need to know that they are dead. They will attack you and you will become one of them too. They aren't sick, they will never get better. We need to do something about this."

"And where does Rick stand on this?" he asked looking like he was still in shock over the fact I had brought all this up.

"I don't know," I said honestly, "He wanted to talk to you about this, but I wanted to talk to you first. It scares me that they are so close to us."

"I'll talk to Rick. He seems like he is in charge of the group and I think that I need to have a word with him. Thank you for the talk. It was a pleasure just like the others."

"Hershel," I started.

"No let's head back," he said turning and getting his horse to hurry to the stable. I followed just a tad slower. I honestly had no idea how things were going to turn out and I was scared. I didn't want to have to be somewhere where I was constantly running and looking over my shoulder. I took care of the horse and Hershel walked away. I sighed and went to meet up with Dale and Glen. I told them that Hershel wanted to talk to Rick. I almost felt offended that he couldn't talk to me about it, but at the same time I knew that Rick was pretty much the leader of the group and I didn't want to stir anything up.

After I told them what happened Dale went off somewhere and Glen and I went on a walk. Rick had gone to talk to Hershel and we hadn't seen him for a while. Glen and I ended up collecting some wood since we had burned all of what we had set up before. My ankle was throbbing by the time we were done. I sat down and pulled my shoe off and started rubbing my ankle when Shane came running up with the guns. I knew right away that something was wrong. He started talking about how we needed to defend our camp and keep everyone safe. He handed out the guns and asked if we were with him. "Where's Dale?"

"He's coming," Shane said as he marched off towards the barn. I looked at Glen as he held the gun in his hands. I slipped on my boot and we followed quickly just as everyone else did. Lori Carl Carol and Sophia staid towards the back of the group and I tried to stay in the middle in case something happened and I needed to protect Sophia. When we got to the barn Hershel and Rick were leading in two walkers. That was when Shane lost it. He open fired on the female walker to show Hershel that she was really dead. Carol and Lori were holding onto the kids tightly as Shane went up to the door and broke the lock on it with a pick ax. "Shane no!" I tried yelling as the walkers pushed through. We all lined up and open fired on the walkers that came out of the barn. I knew it was wrong, but I also knew that I had to protect Sophia. When all of the walkers were on the ground and all the shooting stopped, the only sound that remained was the sobbing of the people who had just watched us kill their family.

And then, we heard moaning coming from inside the barn. A large figure appeared in the door way to the barn and everyone looked at it for a moment before it stepped out into the sun. I didn't recognize it at first, but when Sophia gasped, I knew it was the man from the cabin. That's when I heard a gun drop to the ground. "No! Fuck no!" I looked over and Daryl was pacing back and forth trying to figure out what to do. I was so confused, and I was worried Daryl had lost what was left of his mind. "My brother can't be a fuckin' geek!" he screamed as the walker tumbled towards him. Everyone jumped back as I put two and two together. I couldn't believe that I had killed his brother.

And I didn't understand the fact that I had killed him and then he turned. I didn't remember seeing any bites on him. Daryl reached for his gun but stopped when he looked at his brother again. I ran over and pulled my gun and shot the walker in the head. He dropped to the ground and Daryl just looked at the body. "Bitch," he roared out.

"He was going to bite you!" I said shrilly.

"I could've done it!" he yelled standing up and getting just inches from my face.

"But you didn't," I hissed at him not liking that he was invading my space, "Back off. I took you down once I'll do it again."

"You bitch! You killed my brother!"

"Yeah I did!" I yelled at him, "Twice! And I would do it again! This is what I get for saving your ass! I should've let him bite into you!"

"Twice?" he said confused.

"Yeah, he was the one who tried to hurt Sophia when she got separated from your group." Daryl raised his hand as if he was going to hit me and Rick and Shane moved closer. He looked at them, at me, at Sophia then to his brother and let out a yell that sounded almost feral before he stalked off into the woods.

Rick then turned to Hershel who was getting up and walking back to his house. They were yelling about us staying or making us leave. Everyone but Shane and I went back to their tents not sure of what to do. Shane walked up to me and put his hand on my cheek. I brushed him off and turned my back to him. "I told you I would talk to him, you completely went against me and your word. He had no clue what was coming and you just killed half of his family."

"Maria you know they were already dead," he said putting his hand on my shoulder. I spun around and looked at him. "I know this. But he didn't," I hissed in a whisper. Before turning and walking away. I went in the opposite way that Daryl had gone and when I was far enough away I climbed in a tree and leaned back as I rubbed my now pounding ankle. Today went completely different then I had hopped and now, I had no clue what to do. I looked out into the woods. Now would be a great time for me to leave. People would be too busy and I could easily slink off into the woods and just leave. I looked up at the sky and thought long and hard.

(A/N - Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think ;) )


	12. Ch 12 You're All I Need

(A/N - So it has been a while since I have updated this story but I've been so busy. This boy that I have been having trouble with… asked me out. He has been my best friend for years and I am so happy. Things have been great so I've been spending a lot of time with him and haven't had a lot of down time. But thank you to those of you who are still reading and reviewing!)

When I woke up that morning everyone was already out cleaning up the last of the walker bodies. I sighed and looked out again at my last chance of running away. It would be so easy. I sighed and shook my head before climbing down. As tempting as it was to run, I knew that I was already way to attached to the people here.

"I wondered if you were gonna run," I heard as my feet touched the ground. I knew who it was but I was upset with myself for being so sloppy as to not look around to make sure I was safe to get down, and I was upset that I hadn't heard him walk up.

"I'm still not too sure," I said to Daryl as I brushed off my clothes, "Sorry about yesterday."

"Yesterday was fucked up," he said sitting by the base of the tree sharpening his hunting knife.

"Tell me about it," I said sitting down next to him. He looked up at me and handed me a flask that had been sitting by his leg. I sloshed it around and felt that there was a little under half left. I sniffed it and the smell of whiskey filled my breath. I nodded at him and took a swig. It burned going down, but I welcomed it. "Sorry for how I reacted yesterday Daryl," I said taking another drink before handing it back to him.

"He was ma brother. He was a fuckin asshole, but he was ma brother. Guess I kinda always knew he was dead but a parta me didn't wanna believe that."

"It's alright Daryl, when I lost my daughter, I couldn't believe it either. Sorry about your brother."

"Sorry about your daughter."

"That's why I couldn't just leave. Sophia reminds me of my daughter and I have grown so attached to her so quickly."

"And Shane," Daryl said taking another drink out of the almost empty flask.

"Sometimes I wonder about that part," I said running my hand over my forehead and pushing back some of the hair that had fallen down.

"Why don't ya just cut yer hair? Don't it get in the way?"

"That's why I keep it tied back most of the time. I don't know I really just want something to stay the same. I've always had long hair. Why'd you come over here anyway? It's not like we've really been good friends."

"I don know," he said handing me the last sip from the flask, "Guess this makes me a lil more friendly. Sides, didn't know ya were up there til ya started down." Before I could say anything more, Lori came up to us out of breath. I looked up at the sun and realized that it was past noon. I couldn't believe that Daryl and I had talked for hours. "Daryl, Maria you have to help me. Hershel went into town and Rick and Glen went to find him. They haven't been back for a while now. I'm starting to worry."

"I'm done looking for people," Daryl said standing up and stumbling away. It wasn't enough to worry about him because I knew that he wasn't that drunk, just tipsy. I tucked the flask into my pocket and planned on giving it to him later. "Where's Shane?" I asked thinking that he would've gone into town after his friend if Lori asked.

"I haven't asked him yet, but I know he'll say not to worry and that they will be back." I looked at her, sighed, and walked away. I couldn't believe how reckless our people could be. And more then that how selfish Lori could be sometimes. I heard her walk away quickly but didn't give much thought to it. I gathered my things in my pack and headed out on one of the horses Hershel had let me use the day before. I didn't stop to say anything to Shane or Daryl; I just wanted to clear my head. As soon as I was out of the main gate I kicked the horse into a run.

It didn't take long for me to get to the town and once there I had a pretty good idea of where they would be. I looked around and soon found a bar with the cars outside of it. I smiled and tied the horse to one of them before going inside. When I walked in there were two men sitting at the bar with Hershel and Rick while Glen stood off to the side. I smiled politely at Rick, "Who are your new friends?" I walked over to him and then jumped over the bar to stand next to one of the men that was on that side. I pulled the flask out and refilled it with a whiskey I thought Daryl would like. When I finished filling up the flask I grabbed two other bottles in my hand.

"Big drinker?" the man next to me asked.

"It's for a friend," I said smiling.

"Well aren't you a pretty thing," the heavier man said standing up making Rick's hand twitch towards his gun.

"Whoa whoa whoa," the man next to me said putting his hands up in the air with a friendly smile on his face, "we don't want any problems."

"It's fine Rick," I said nodding at the man next to me. The heavier man cursed and stood up to take a piss on the other side of the room. Glen looked disgusted and I tried to focus on everything outside and inside while Rick and the skinny man talked about living conditions and the two men wanted to know where we were living because they had more people and they needed somewhere safe to stay.

When the heavy man pulled his gun, Rick shot him as I broke the empty bottle over the other man's head before running my knife through his skull. No more then a few moments later there were more men outside and they were asking about their friends. Rick tried talking them down, but I knew it wouldn't work. I grabbed Glen and took him to help me try to secure an exit.

Only moments later did the shooting begin. After that everything was moving so fast I was running more on adrenaline then anything else. It had been a while since I had been in a fight, and it wasn't until that moment that I realized how quickly I had let my guard down. Glen was ducked down and Hershel and I were trying to cover him, but I was becoming very worried because he hadn't moved for a while. "Did he get hit?" I asked Hershel.

"I don't know," he said shooting a man, "I can't tell."

"I'm going out there," I said grabbing my knife and staying low to the ground, "cover me." Hershel nodded and I ran to Glen. After looking him over and making sure that he was ok, I got him up and we got to the cars as the other men were leaving because of how quickly the walkers were heading over. As we were getting into the cars Rick noticed that not only had they shot and killed the horse that I had borrowed, but they had left one of their men behind who had fallen from the roof and had his leg impaled by the fence.

In the end, against what I had to say, Rick and Hershel had gotten the man into the back seat of their car and were driving off to the barn. Glen and I were in the other car and I followed behind Rick as Glen sat in the passenger seat. I placed the bottle on Glen's lap and put my head on my hand that was resting on the window. "What happened Glen?"

"Maggie told me that she loved me."

"And you're scared that you're going to die now and you won't be able to get back to her." When Glen didn't say anything I continued, "Glen, you can't be scared like that. That's what will get you killed. Not being loved. When I started working, I made a mistake. I thought about my daughter on one of my missions and because of it I almost died," I lifted up my shirt and showed him a faint scar on my side, "that one is actually one of the very few scars I have. I got shot because I was scared my little girl would be alone. I was so scared of what could have happened that I let that control me. The moment I stopped worrying about what could happen and started thinking about what was actually going on, I was fine. You can't let your fear control your life."

"Thanks Maria," Glen said rubbing his hands together. I nodded and fingered the locket around my neck. The ride back was quiet and we really didn't talk about much other then the bottle of whiskey and how you really couldn't trust anybody anymore. Glen said something along the lines of "fight the dead and fear the living." I couldn't agree with him more.

When we got back to the farm Shane and Lori practically ran up to us and checked to make sure that we were ok. Hershel was yelling out directions to try to save the boys leg while I walked off pass Shane and over to where Daryl was standing. For a moment I saw Shane's face turn red, but he shrugged it off and walked away before I could say anything to him. When I reached Daryl, I reached in my back pocket and pulled out his flask and tossed it to him. He caught it, opened it and took a drink. When he closed it again his lip smirked up a bit and he nodded at me. "Oh, this too," I said leaning to the car and giving him the bottle. And when he took it I swore I heard him laugh a little under his breath. "Come by later," he said quietly and walked away to his tent which he had moved further from the group since the barn incident. I smiled as he walked away, happy that we were finally going to be civil to each other. It was better to get along with people, especially people like Daryl who pretty much supported the entire group.

When I looked back I saw Lori watching me, and I noticed Andrea was gone. I figured I'd ask about her later, but right now I needed to talk to Shane about him getting mad and walking away. When I walked up Shane's tent, I didn't think to ask him if it was ok to walk in. And when I opened the flap of the tent, Shane had his pants around his ankles and his shirt off and Andrea was beneath him with nothing on at all. Shane spun around and froze. None of us said anything for a short moment before I took off running. I heard Shane saying something and Andrea's voice in a high pitched whine answer back. I didn't stop running until I got to Daryl's tent.

"The fucks wrong with you?" Daryl said lying in his cot with an arm behind his head.

"I need a drink and a good fuck," I said grabbing the open bottle from Daryl and taking a mouth full.

"I can help with part of that," Daryl said his voice already slurring.

"Why can't you help with both?" I said almost pouting as I sat down next to him so our shoulders were touching and I was looking right into his eyes.

"Cause you n Shane got somethin," he said putting his arm around my shoulders.

"Shane's fucking Andrea."

"Ha!" Daryl laughed out. I punched him jokingly in the chest and took my third mouthful out of the bottle.

"I'm not asking for love Daryl. I'm asking for fun. Something to help me feel better and unwind."

"Ya drunk already girl?"

"Not yet. So what do you think?"

"I think yer outcher mind," Daryl said taking the bottle back after my sixth mouthful. He took a drink and I took the bottle from him, put the top on, set it aside and straddled Daryl. "Fer the record. Still think yer crazy." I smiled as he said that and kissed him roughly. I felt him move and switch the lamp off before he ran his hands all over me.

He flipped me over and we all but ripped each other's clothes off. Daryl was hard already and I was aching for him to just be inside me so when he tried to finger me I brushed his hand away, "Daryl, I want," I took a breath, "No, I need you to be inside me. Now."

"Ya keep talkin like tha an this is gonna be over way ta soon fer both of us," he said before flipping me over and entering me from behind completely filling me up. I moaned out loudly as I felt him rip my ponytail holder out of my hair. He grabbed my hair and yanked it backwards as he continued to pound into me over and over. His rough, calloused hand that wasn't in my hair grabbed my breast and began to massage and tug at my nipple. After he let go of my hair he reached around and started playing with my clit. Making me bite my lip to stop myself from screaming out. "Fuck girl I'm gonna come." I knew we both could've lasted a lot longer if we had been sober, but at this state, I was perfectly happy with him finishing now. He bit into my shoulder and I moaned out my release seconds before he did.

When we finished Daryl was about ready to pass out, as was I. We quickly threw on some clothes, just in case, and covered up with his blankets before completely passing out. It was the first night I didn't stay awake thinking. It was nice. But I knew in the morning I would think differently, so I enjoyed it while I could.

(A/N – thank you for reading. I know this is a fic about Shane, but this will help with the story. I hope you like it and if you do I hope you leave a review! Thank you!)


	13. Ch 13 Heartbroken

**(A/N – So I've decided that when I am not writing Before and After, I will be trying to write this story. These chapters are going to stay around 2 to 4 thousand words for now. It's been a while since I've written anything for this story, so for those who have read and are reading it let me know how this chapter sounds with the rest of it to make sure it flows right. Can't wait to hear from you…let's begin!)**

Chapter 13:

The sun wasn't up yet when I started to wake up. There was a slight buzzing in my head from drinking last night, but it wasn't bad. I took in a deep breath and listened for a minute to figure out everything that was going on. Daryl was still next to me with one of his arms draped over my bare stomach from where he had placed it the night before. I tried to stretch without moving too much so that I wouldn't disturb Daryl and felt that I was deliciously sore. I smiled and looked around the tent. I hadn't really cared to look at it last night when I came in. I saw the cot was on its side, and the two bottles of alcohol where knocked over on the floor. My boots were kicked off by the door of the tent and while I only had my gray sports bra and pants on, I was sure my pants and underwear were around here somewhere, Daryl still had his shirt and boxers on.

I grinned again, relishing in the feeling of not worrying about anything for once in a long time, and snuggled a little closer to Daryl's chest. "Mornin," Daryl said as I got comfy.

"Did I wake you?"

"Ya," he said taking his arm off of me for a moment. He rubbed his face roughly before putting his arm back over my stomach, "The minute ya woke up ya woke me up."

"Lo siento," I said running my fingertips up and down the skin of his arm. Daryl opened one eye and looked at me with one eye brow raised. "I'm sorry," I said giggling a little bit. The sound shocked me but Daryl didn't seem to notice because he just closed his eye. Because the sun wasn't up it wasn't too hot in the tent yet and when Daryl tugged me closer to him, I welcomed the warmth and moved onto my side so my back was pressed against his chest. "Hey Daryl," I said already feeling myself fall back to sleep.

"Hm," Daryl mumbled in response.

"Want to go hunting with me later?"

"Ya know how ta hunt?"

"Yeah," I said running my hand over his arm again. I knew he would never be like this if anyone else was around. And I knew this might never happen again, but I was happy in this moment and I was going to take advantage of it.

"K," he said drifting off to sleep. I smiled and followed his lead.

When I woke up again it was because the sun was beating down on the tent and even though we were in the shade of the tree Daryl's body heat was making me sweat. "You awake?" I asked moving away from him.

"Yep," Daryl said and sat up.

"I can't wait for it to start getting cooler out. This heat is going to kill me."

"I'll member tha when yer tellin me yer freezing this winter," Daryl said before reaching over for a water bottle. He took a sip and tossed it to me. "It shouldn't be too bad with the farm house here. We can always stay in the barn."

"Mhm," Daryl said as I took a drink then handed it back to him. He closed it and started moving through the tent. When he came upon my shirt he threw it over his shoulder and into my face. I caught it though before it hit me and smacked him with it. He chuckled and I slipped it on. "Let me know if you find my panties," I said putting my boots on, "I'm going to go take a shower."

"K," Daryl said nodding to me as I walked out of the tent. I looked around to see if anyone out was out there that I didn't want to see before stepping out completely. "Ey," Daryl called out. I stuck my head in and the smell of out sweat was almost too much. "Ya?"

"Meet me back 'ere when yer done bein all girly," Daryl smirked at me making his mole dance.

"Ya know Dixon," I said tying my hair back up, "You could use a bath yourself."

"Nah," he said returning to search through his tent. I laughed before leaving again to go find my backpack.

"Hey Maria," I heard Maggie's voice call over to me as I slung my bag over my shoulder.

"Que tal?," I smiled then in English said, "what's up?"

"Nothin really just wanted to say thanks for bringing my dad back home."

"Don't worry about it, but I do have a question for you," I said walking with her as she walked towards the chicken coop.

"What's that?"

"Anyway I'd be able to take a shower inside today?"

"Oh! Yeah go ahead. I think Beth might be in there now but you can use it anytime."

"Actually," I said pausing outside the door to the coop with her, "I think I might just shower later. Don't want to interrupt anyone."

"Don't worry about it," Maggie said smiling as she held onto the basket she was carrying with one hand.

"No," I said waving my hand, "I'm going out hunting today anyway so I'll just wash up and when I come back I'll shower."

"Goin by yerself?"

"No," I said suddenly feeling a little guilty. Maggie raised her eyebrow at me but didn't push. "Alright then. Be safe."

"Always am," I smiled walking off towards the house, "Want me to grab anything for you while I'm out?"

"Nope," Maggie smiled back at me before climbing inside to get eggs. I really did like that girl she was always so friendly, but usually straight forward. I walked to the house and noticed that no one was really out of their tents yet except for Dale who waved to me as I walked by the RV. I waved back then walked up the stairs to the house. Pausing at the door I knocked gently one time, then let myself in. I looked around and saw Hershel standing in the kitchen making himself some tea. "Hey Hershel," I called out quietly so as not to startle him.

"Hello Maria," he said turning to smile at me. There were dark circles under his eyes and I wondered if he slept at all last night. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Actually Maggie told me it was alright if I used your bathroom before I took off for the day, where is it exactly?"

"Just upstairs and to the right. You'll see it if Beth isn't in it. Feel free to use the house as you please," Hershel said before turning to finish his tea. I started towards the stairs when Hershel called out for me. I turned with one hand on the railing, "Si?"

"Thank you for yesterday. It was good that you were there," he said with a soft, tired smile.

"Don't worry about it," I smiled and gave him a nod before heading up. Reaching the top of the stairs my ankle was already starting to throb a little and I wondered if it was a good idea to be on it today and realized that I needed to work it or it wouldn't get better. I stopped outside the doors and listened for a sound since all of the doors were shut. I heard someone moving behind the nearest door and watched as the handle turned and a fully dressed Beth walked out with a towel wrapped around her hair. "Oh!" she gasped her eyes going wide.

"Sorry Beth," I said running my hands over my back pack straps, "Didn't mean to startle you. Was just about to use the bathroom."

"It's alright," Beth smiled and then headed towards her room, "Let me know if you need anything." I walked into the bathroom and smiled, I hoped that Marissa would have turned out like Maggie and Beth. They were good girls. I closed the door and walked over to the mirror. I hadn't realized how long it had been since I had bathed and my face and hair showed it. I looked longingly to the shower and knew that I didn't really have time for one right now and I would just have to shower when I came back. So, I turned and took the washcloth from the tub and turned on the warm water. I grabbed the body wash that was in the shower and slid off my pants, shirt and bra. I washed my face and my arm before running it over the other places that needed it. I rinsed out the cloth and washed the soap from my body.

Once I was satisfied I reached into my bad and pulled out my last clean shirt, bra and socks. I sighed knowing I should have done my laundry, but with everything going on I really hadn't had the chance. I hated to do it, but maybe today I could ask Carol to help me out just this once. I put on my white sports bra the white tank top before sitting down on the lid of the toilet to look at my ankle before putting my pants back on. I unwrapped it and moved it around some before pulling out a clean wrap and rewrapping it. I pulled on my socks and then my boots before leaning over the tub and wetting my hair. I quickly braided my hair then threw it up into a bun before grabbing everything and making my way outside.

"Maria! Maria!" Sophia called and ran up to me.

"Hola nina dulce," I said petting her hair as she hugged me, "How are you?"

"I'm good," she smiled up at me as Carol walked up behind her.

"Can I take those?" Carol smiled motioning to my clothes.

"Could you?" I asked and she nodded holding out her hands, "That would help so much. I'm going out today and I don't think I'll be back til late."

"Where are you going?" Sophia asked almost sadly.

"Just to get us some food from the forest," I said lifting her chin with my finger and smiling at her.

"Are you going with Mr. Daryl?"

"Sophia," Carol said with a bit of warning in her voice.

"It's alright," I said smiling at Carol before looking down at Sophia, "Yes he's going with me. We are learning to be friends. You know Sophia, Mr. Daryl looked very hard for you."

"I know," she said blushing a little.

"He's very nice," I said hugging her, "I won't be gone for long."

"Ok," she said perking up when I said that, "We can play when you get back. I'm going to the pond with Carl today."

"Good," I said taking her by the hand and walking towards Carol, "You have fun and be careful, ok?"

"Yes ma'am," Sophia said before hugging me, kissing her mama and then running off.

"She's a good girl," I said to Carol as we began walking back towards the little camp.

"Thank you," she said smiling at me, "I don't know how to thank you enough for bringing her back to me."

"Don't worry about it," I said catching sight of Daryl by the tree.

"Let me know if there's anything you need ok? I'll never be able to show you how thankful I am, but I want to try."

"Carol," I said putting my hand on her shoulder, "Really, I did what any mother would do. Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later? Thank you again for the laundry!"

"You're welcome," she called out to me as I jogged away. My ankle stung a little bit, but from the boot and the wrap it wasn't too bad. "Hey there," I said stopping as I got closer.

"Ready?" Daryl said picking up the bolts for his cross bow.

"Almost. Mind if I leave some stuff here?"

"Go head," he said nodding before going over everything he was taking with. I stepped into the tent and placed down my bag. I didn't think I was going to need much, but I didn't want to get stuck out there without anything either. I emptied everything out of my bag and just filled it with some water bottles, a small survival kit, a small sewing kit, refolded my coat, a first aid kit, and some food that Beth had given me at the house before I left. I also threw in Daryl's flask from last night. I slung the backpack on, then my katana, then slid my gun into the holster at my hip. I picked up two knives and put them in my top pockets and left the tent. "Damn," Daryl said as he leaned against the tree, "Took ya long enough."

"Shut it Dixon," I laughed standing up and stretching out. My back popped and Daryl shook his head as he pushed off of the tree. "Ready _now_," Daryl asked with a smirk on his face. I slowly checked each finger nail and heard Daryl chuckle, when I was finished I looked up at him and smiled. "Now I'm ready."

"Alright," he said heading off with his crossbow over his shoulder, "Let's get goin."

**(A/N – So let me know what you're thinking. For those of you that are reading and are wanting things to go towards Shane just hang in there with me, I'm not 100% sure how I want this to go right now, but he still has a fighting change. For the Dixon lovers, the next two or so chapters will be more Daryl. After that is when I will have to decide for certain what I am doing. Thanks too:**

**Fanoudusud**

**LunaraWolf**

**NotAProphet**

**Lexzly**

**Your review help kick my butt to write. I hope to hear more reviews from everyone! Lots of love and Merry Christmas!**


	14. Ch 14 Spend the Night With You

**(A/N – I hope that everything is going well for you guys! Things are a little hectic here but I hope that you are enjoying the story just the same! Just to let you know this chapter gets hot fast. If you don't want to read that sort of thing don't worry you'll know when to skip. But it is part of the story to know that it happens. Let me know what you think of the new updates. The more reviews the faster I try to get stories up. Let me know the ups and downs of the chapters so I can turn this story into the best story EVER!)**

Chapter 14:

"So are ya gonna start stabbing our food with yer fancy sword?" Daryl said as we walked through the trees. We'd only been walking about five minutes, but the ground was rougher than I thought and my ankle was starting to hurt, but I tried not to let it affect Daryl. "Very funny Dixon," I said as I balanced myself against the tree, "Don't worry. I can handle my own."

"Fine then," he said stopping mid walk, "Prove it." He squatted down and I followed. I looked to see what he was watching and saw a rather large rabbit. I smiled at him and pulled the knife out of my pocket and out of its sheath. I watched the rabbit and paused for the slightest of seconds before flicking my wrist and letting the knife fly. I watched as the knife sunk deep into the neck of the rabbit and Daryl let out a whistle. "Told ya," I said getting up and walking toward the rabbit. I pulled my knife out of it and cleaned it off before putting it back where I wanted it. "Here ya go," I said tossing the rabbit to Daryl. He caught it and tied its feet up before hanging it off his belt.

"Alright ya ain't so bad," he said walking up to me.

"Stop," I said holding a hand out to him and he quickly pulled his bow and went on high alert. "What do you make of these?" I asked looking at the deer prints in the dirt.

"Can't be too old," he said crouching down next to me then looked in the direction that the prints were leading, "Come on." And without another word we moved in silence through the forest hardly making a sound. I listened carefully to the birds singing while trying to hear any footsteps that shouldn't be there. Daryl was a head of me, and while I could track a deer as good as anyone else could, I let him take the lead on this one knowing his bow would be better than my knives.

Daryl and I walked until the sun started to set again. When I paid enough attention to the time, it was already starting to get dark, and that's when Daryl's hand shot out and stopped me. I completely froze and scanned the area. Ahead of was the deer, but I could hear something else coming up to it also. I looked and listened as the birds stopped singing and the deer's head shot up and its ears moved like radars. I pulled out my knife as Daryl lined up his bow. The deer looked so beautiful standing there and I wished that we didn't have to kill it, but the moment the walker came through the trees and into sight, I knew we had to as a matter of life or death. So as Daryl released the bolt into the deer, I threw my knife into the walkers head making it crash to its knees.

"Damn," Daryl said as the deer moved and the arrow was lodged firmly in right flank of the deer.

"It's alright," I said pulling my knife out of the walker's head and cleaning it off, "It isn't hurt too bad so if it comes close to another walker it'll take off, but we'll be able to track it better. Too bad it's getting dark."

"Yeah," Daryl said walking over to me then heading in the direction of the deer, "We can keep goin fer a little while anyway."

"After you," I said and smiled as Daryl went back into tracker mode.

When it was finally too dark to risk it, we decided to make camp for the night. "Sleepin in the trees 'gain t'night?"

"Maybe," I said looking up at the branches, "Hungry?" Daryl nodded after he got a small fire started and then he sat down on the trunk of a fallen tree. "Beth made these for us," I said handing him a pb&j sandwich. "I'm just glad they haven't run out of some of the food we use to take for granted," I said tossing Daryl a peach and bag of two hard boiled eggs and a bottle of water. Daryl nodded and we both ate our food silently as we listened to the sounds of nature around us. A part of me drifted back to Sophia and I hoped that she wasn't too worried that I wasn't back yet, but I knew that this deer would be great for us. Another small part of me flashed to Shane and I wondered if he was wrapped in Andrea's arms again tonight. I mentally shook myself and as I did I noticed some jelly fell onto my pant leg. "Damn," I said looking around the bag, "Got a towel or something?"

"Got this," Daryl said and I thought that I heard amusement in his voice. I looked up and felt my face flush. In his hand he dangled my bright pink thong that I had lost the night before in his tent. "Give me those!"

"Naw think I'm gonna keep 'em," Daryl said smirking and tucked them back into his pocket.

"Damn it Daryl," I said standing up after finishing my food and doing my best to wipe away the jelly, "Those were my last clean pair!"

"Sucks," Daryl said taking a sip of his water as I moved closer to him.

"Give me them," I said with my hands on my hips.

"Whatda ya say?" he taunted for me.

"Por favor?" I said crossing my arms over my chest.

"Nah," he said and leaned back against the tree.

"Daryl," I complained then stopped. His eyes were shut and he had the world's cockiest grin on his face. I saw him open his mouth to say something and I took that moment to swing my leg over his and straddle him. "On another topic," I said leaning seductively over him, "I was thinking about last night."

"What 'bout it?" he asked eyeing my and I watched as his smile faltered just a little bit.

"How about a repeat performance?"

"Don't know," Daryl said sighing a little bit, but I pushed his shirt up a little and ran my fingers over the strip of skin above his pants.

"Just a little friendly company," I said softly turning my fingers under the band of his pants. When Daryl hesitated I sighed dramatically and got off him to sit on the tree with my back turned to him. "But if you don't want to," I said reaching and pulling out his flask. I took a long drink and held it out to him. He was watching me and chewing on the side of his thumb before he took a drink. I heard him tighten the top and set it down. I smiled and pulled my hair down from the bun and it fell in loose waves around my head and down my back. It was still a little damp and it felt good against my hot skin.

The next thing I knew, there was a hand fisting my hair at the nape of my neck. I moaned as I felt Daryl's hand tighten pulling my hair and forcing me to look up at him. We locked eyes for a nano second before his lips came crashing down on mine. The kiss was so forceful that his scruff scratched at my face and our teeth gnashed together for a second. I tasted a little blood and I felt Daryl growl. I reached my hands up and grabbed onto Daryl's shirt, but he wasn't having it. He reached down and grabbed my hands in one of his before breaking the kiss and yanking me up off the tree. He backed me up and pinned my against a standing tree before kissing me again. It wasn't as rough this time, but it was still animalistic.

I gyrated my hips into his and his free hand came crashing down onto my hip and thrusted me against the tree. Daryl moved his mouth from mine and moved it to my neck where he nipped and bit and sucked to where my shirt met with my skin. I moaned and then turned myself around breaking free from his grip before grabbing his hands and grinding my ass against him. I yanked him to me and put one hand on my breast under my shirt and the other at the top of my pants. Daryl bit into my right shoulder blade as I jutted my ass back against him and pulled him toward me making me feel his hard member pressed against me. "Fuck," he hissed before biting me again.

"I want to feel you," I moaned as I helped him undo my pants. No sooner was the button undone that Daryl's hand was down my pants. He growled the moment he realized I was commando. "Fuck," Daryl growled out, "You've been without them panties this entire time?"

"Mhm," I said bringing his left hand to my mouth and sucking on the tip of his finger before slowly dragging his finger into my mouth. I sucked on it running my tongue over each side as I continued to thrust myself back into him. By the time I had two of his fingers in my mouth down to the last knuckle, Daryl had started to tease me by running his hand over everything other than where I wanted him. "Daryl," I moaned taking his fingers out of my mouth and putting my hands on the tree to keep myself up right.

"What?" he said as he slipped his still wet fingers up my shirt and to my already erect nipple. I gasped and bit my lip.

"Please," I begged, "Let me touch you." Daryl paused and I knew he hadn't been expecting that. I took his pause and yanked free of his grasp before dropping to my knees and undoing his pants. He watched me intently as I pulled him out and pumped him once, twice, and then three times before letting my tongue dart out to lick the very tip. "Fuck," he groaned as his eyes squeezed shut and it was his turn to hold himself up with the tree. I smiled and ran my tongue under the rim to the sensitive part under the head. I heard him gasp air and I moved my other hand to cup his balls as I licked my lips and slid them slowly, sucking him, further into my mouth. "Maria," Daryl grunted out before taking his one hand and gripping the back of my head with a handful of hair. I pulled back and licked him from base to tip before looking up at him, "Go ahead Daryl. Fuck my mouth." And that was it. Daryl rammed into my mouth completely and I silently thanked whoever for not having a gag reflex as Daryl pounded away. I moved my hand and started playing with his balls again and soon he was grunting with every pump. I loved how he tasted like pure man. He was longer than I was used to and a little thicker too, but I loved every minute of it. "Damn girl," he groaned pulling my head away and hearing a small pop. I reached out my tongue and licked a spot of pre cum. "You're gonna have my cum before I even fuck ya," he said trying to catch his breath.

"That's ok," I said smiling and tried to lean forward before Daryl stopped me by gripping my hair tighter.

"Naw," he said pulling me up, "That ain't me." And with that he was kissing me and pinning my back to the tree again. I sighed happily into the kiss and took my hands and ran them up his arms. He moved and helped me tug off my shirt and then carefully helped me out of my boots before sliding off my pants and then my bra. "I wondered what those were las night," he said running his hand up my side before flipping my ring with his thumb. I shivered and reached for his shirt. He backed away. "Not fair Daryl," I said taking his hand and pulling it close, "You get to see all of me."

"Ya don't wanta see all a me," he said put let me help him slide his pants off.

"Please," I said smiling and tugging at the hem of his shirt, "Just friends. Remember? You don't have to be worried about anything in front of your friend."

"Fine," Daryl said trying to get us back in the mood, "But ya stay in front o' me. Got it?"

"Yes sir," I mock saluted him.

"I like how you say that," he said, the hungry look back in his eyes. I felt myself get wet as he stalked toward me taking off his shirt. He was fully erect and looked amazing. "Ya like when I play with yer rings?"

"Yes," I said as he lifted his hand and tugged on one. He reached around and smacked my ass.

"Yes what?" he growled.

"Yes sir," I smiled.

"Good girl," he drawled and I melted. His hand slipped down and went straight to my core. I threw my head back and knew we were done talking. He moved his finger through my wet folds before slamming one into me. I gasped trying to get a breath as he pumped his finger in and out of me before adding another. "Daryl," I moaned.

"Yer so fuckin wet already," he groaned leaning forward and cupping one breast before sucking on it and pulling the ring into his mouth, "Next time I'ma taste ya, but righ' now I'm gonna fuck ya til yer screamin."

"Hurry," I begged squirming against him. The next thing I know is he has my back pressed against the tree and the tip of his cock is pressed to my opening and stretching me a little. I groaned and tried to get him inside of me. "Damn yer tight," he said moving his hips so the tip teased me, "I don't know how I didn't hurt ya."

"You did," I said between gritted teeth.

"Ya shoulda told me," he said stopping, "I woulda stopped."

"Didn't want ya to. Don't want you to. I'll tell you if I want you to. Now, please, fuck me Daryl." And with that he was inside of me thrusting my back up against the tree. It burned a little and I knew that I would have scrapes there tomorrow but I didn't care it felt to good. He rocked his hips into my while using one hand on my ass to hold me up and the other tugging my ring while he sucked and bit everything he could reach. "Daryl!" I cried out as he hit just the right spot. He thrust into my quickly a few more times making me pant his name before pulling out and flipping my over the fallen tree. "Daryl?" I said almost disappointed before he repositioned behind me and thrust in while yanking my hair back. I screamed out in pleasure as he pulled me so that I was almost up right against him. "Fuck," Daryl grunted into my ear making me shiver with pleasure, "I'm not gonna last much longer."

"Me either," I almost cried at how close I was to orgasm.

"Ya want me to pull out?" Daryl said as he thrust into me again and again.

"Don't worry about it," I said and Daryl started thrusting again harder and faster than before and I was crying out for him to help push me over the edge. We weren't worried about who or what would find us right then, we were too lost in pleasure. "Ohmygod!" I moaned out as Daryl's hand snaked around and started rubbing my clit. I reached one hand up and cupped my breast pulling at my nipple as I reached the other hand back to massage Daryl's balls. "Fuck! Maria!" Daryl grunted out leaning forward and sinking his teeth hard into my skin on my shoulder. That, combined with everything else, sent me flying over the edge into a screaming, mind numbing orgasm with Daryl as I felt him spill himself inside of me.

We both collapsed onto the tree in front of us as Daryl thrust into me in an uneven beat until he was finished. He had fallen on top of me and I relaxed under his touch as the last wave of my orgasm crashed around me. "Daryl," I panted, "You're crushing me." He laughed a little before sliding off of me to sit on the floor. I balanced myself the best I could on my shaking legs and pulled out the blanket I always kept at the bottom of my bag and spread it out. Daryl flopped back onto it and I joined him.

"So, next time huh?" I said turning on my side and rubbing small patterns on his chest.

"Mhmm," Daryl said putting one hand behind his head and pulling my closer to his side with the other.

"Sounds like fun," I smiled at him and kissed his side. He stiffened a little bit but then slowly relaxed as I continued touching his chest. I looked over and noticed that the fire had gone out except for a few embers. "That was pretty damn good," I said sitting up and trying to stir the fire while trying to find my clothes at the same time.

"Hell ya it was," Daryl said sitting up and started grabbing his clothes, "just wait til we get back. Bet I can have ya screamin like tha' again. You'll never leave yer tent gain without people lookin at ya funny."

"Someone's full of himself," I laughed as I slipped my bra on and Daryl helped fasten it.

"Ya loved every minute of it," he said pulling on his shirt and boxers, "But I do think we should move or somethin, don't know wha' heard us."

"Trees?"

"Ain't sleepin in no tree," Daryl said standing up and pulling on his jeans.

"Can I at least have my panties back now?"

"Nope," he said grabbing his bow and walking around, "Be back." And with that he was out in the trees.

I finished getting dressed and then wondered what was taking Daryl so long. Just then there was a whistle, a loud growl, then a thunk as something hit the ground. "Daryl?" I whispered out pulling out my katana. "Daryl," I called again a little louder. "Damn it Dixon!" I said whispering and moving around where I still had enough light to see.

"I'm right here," he said and I turned to see him walking out from behind a tree.

"Don't do that," I scowled at him. He smirked then started packing things up. "Come on," he said as I watched him confused, "There's a small shed a while that way. We can stay there til mornin."

"How romantic," I laughed getting my things together and in moments we were walking through the darkness.

"How much further?" I asked limping now as I realized how much strain I had put on my ankle today.

"Not much," he said turning around and waiting for me, "Need a hand?"

"Nope," I said smiling at him, "Just lead the way." He nodded and in about five more minutes we arrived to the shack. "Home sweet home," I said as he held the door open for me. The shed had very few items in it, but it did have shutters and a heavy desk which we pushed in front of the door. Daryl picked through what was there, like rope and some seeds before sitting down next to me on the blanket I had laid out. I had taken off my boot, sock, and wrap and was massaging my foot when Daryl motioned for me to give him my foot.

When I did he started rubbing the sole of my foot and all around my foot and ankle without actually touching the part of my ankle that was still bruised and a swollen. "Ya shoulda stayed at camp today," Daryl said looking my straight in the eyes.

"I was going stir crazy," I complained letting my head rest against the wall.

"Hn," Daryl responded and rubbed for a little while longer before letting me put my wrap, sock and boot back on. I pulled the coat out of my back pack and draped it over us as I cuddled to Daryl's side. "Night Daryl," I said as my eyes drifted shut.

"Night," he said and then I was out cold.

**(A/N – So I hope you liked it, told ya it would get hot! But everything is going according to plan and I hope that you are enjoying it. Let me know what you think and I will get back to you! Lots of love and Merry Christmas! P.s. you should leave me a review as a present! Lol)**


	15. Ch 15 Dog Days Are Over

**(A/N – Hey everyone! So I know I've been trying to update by every weekend, but if you keep up with my other stories, you'll notice that I started a short story for the Boondocks Saints taking place during their second movie. It's only going to be a few chapters but the story has been stuck in my head and I needed to get it out. If you enjoy reading smutty Norman Reedus, I think you'll enjoy it! Anyway that's why I haven't updated this yet but I hope you're still with me! Anyway… let's begin.)**

Chapter 15:

"Mornin'." I heard Daryl say from next to me as I stretched out my limbs and sighed.

"Morning," I said turning so that I could rest my head on Daryl's chest.

"I don't normally like to do this," he said gesturing to how our bodies where tangled together.

"Mmmm," I moaned contently before snuggling up to him closer, "I love this. It makes me feel safe for a little while."

"At least yer comfortable," he said placing one hand, a little awkwardly, on my shoulder and started rubbing my arm.

"I love that too," I said almost purring as his fingers brushed my skin.

"We hav' ta get up soon," Daryl said and started to fidget, "The deer is hurt, but it's movin'."

"Right," I said squeezing him once then sitting up and jumping to my feet. I leaned on my good ankle and tested how my bad one was feeling today. "How's the ankle?"

"Better than I thought," I said and the smiled at him, "Maybe it's your magic fingers."

"Stop," he chuckled and watched me as I got ready. I unwrapped my foot and tried to walk around on it like that for a little while and did some exercises that would help strengthen it. Daryl laid there with one arm propped behind his head as I took out some water and undressed to wash up a little. The sun wasn't up yet and it was still cool and my body responded to the air. I almost blushed as I stood there knowing that Daryl saw everything that happened with me. "Need a hand?" I asked holding out the water to him.

"Nah," he smirked and moved to put both arms behind his head as a pillow, "I don't need a bath. Take one when we get back. Maybe."

"Oh trust me," I said throwing him the water and a clean cloth, "You need it." He chuckled and picked up the items before using them on the spots of him that weren't covered with clothes. "That'll do I guess," I said and he rolled his eyes at me before standing and packing away everything.

Now and then I would catch him watching me, but I took pride in it, and after I was dry I got redressed and wrapped my foot. By the time I was done, Daryl was ready and waiting by the dresser for me to help him move it. Once it was moved we left the safety of the little cabin and I followed Daryl as he picked up the trail from yesterday.

We didn't talk as we walked through the forest, but it was comfortable with him like this. We didn't need to talk. We were able to walk through and just take in the forest and the life that was around us. Every now and then Daryl and I would stop and take turns killing another rabbit or squirrel before moving on and tracking the deer. I had to admit that he was very good at tracking, he might even rival me. But I kept that to myself. When the sun was high in the sky, we took a break and drank some water and ate the last of the food that I had brought. "This is nice," I said as a few birds flew overhead. Daryl nodded and kept eating. "It almost makes you forget that the world has gone to shit," I continued.

"This is the closest thing to a home I've had," he said without looking at me.

"I know what you mean," I said taking a drink, "When I was little I use to run out to the woods and sometimes I would stay there for days."

"Yer folks didn't get pissed?"

"Not really. From what I can remember, neither of them were ever sober enough to realize I was even missing. I left them when I was young. I hardly remember them now."

"My family sucked too," he said looking up at him, "Merle was a bastard at his best. But…"

"He was your brother," I finished and placed a hand on his knee, "I am sorry about that. I didn't really have a choice."

"I know. He never really did know when ta leave things be," Daryl said standing and brushing off whatever had landed on his lap from lunch.

"Anyway," I said standing and doing the same, "Family can really suck. The only family I miss is my." And I stopped. Daryl was looking me right in the eye and I felt my throat close up and my eyes sting from building tears. "Yer daughter," he said not missing a beat. I nodded and turned from him. I knew he wouldn't care, at the most he would feel uncomfortable, but I didn't want him to see me cry. "Ya don't hav' ta do that," he said putting a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and flung myself into his chest. I didn't cry, but as his arms wrapped around me, I welcomed the comfort. Yes, Shane had been there for me when I told him about my daughter, but this was different. I didn't have to tell Daryl what had happened, he just knew that I needed him.

"Thank you," I said after I got my breathing under control.

"Don't worry bout it," he said pulling on his pack and bow, "If ya ever want ta, just talk about her, ya can. I'll listen. Can't promise that I'll be a big help, but I'll listen."

"Thank you Daryl," I said packing my own things up, "Sometimes, that's all I need."

"Hnn," Daryl responded and started walking. I followed and for a long time we just walked in silence again, and I smiled as we did.

"So," Daryl started a little while later, "What are we doin' when we get back ta camp?"

"You mean what am I doing about Shane? Or are we going to let the others know what's going on between us right now."

"Both," he said not turning around.

"I don't know. Shane doesn't really seem to want anything with me, and I can't say I don't enjoy… spending time with you," I laughed at how that sounded.

"That's what we're callin' it," he chuckled.

"Sounds the nicest," I laughed and liked how it sounded, "I wouldn't care if people knew what we were doing. But I would like to know what we ARE doing."

"I ain't lookin' to go steady or nothin'," he said making me laugh.

"Go steady?" I asked laughing again and watching his ears turn a shade of red, "No Daryl. I don't think we need to 'go steady' but I do like our strange friendship we have here. I like talking to you, even if you only really talk when we aren't around other people. I don't feel like you're judging me. And I feel safe around you. But if people start talking I don't just want to say we are, fuck buddies. That just sounds so harsh."

"So we don't tell em nothin'?" he asked pausing for a moment and looking closer at the ground.

"We can just avoid it, but I think I might end up spending more nights in your tent. If that's ok," I said stopping short behind him so he could do his thing.

"S'long as ya don't start gabbin like all the others round camp."

"We can still cuddle?" I asked jokingly.

"Don't call it tha', sounds to girly," he said looking at me funny. It only made me laugh more. "Alright, alright. As long as I don't call _it_ that, we can still do it?"

"Yeah," he said, "But don't be thinkin I'm just gonna lie around witcha all day. I got shit to do."

"Yes sir," I smiled at him and he just looked back to the trail.

"We're close," he said moving again, "If we hurry we can catch it and be back before night."

"But we've been walking for almost two days now," I said looking a little confused before I realized where we were. Then I just felt stupid. "We've almost walked in a big circle," I said looking around the trees, "That damn deer lead us back to the camp."

"Nice," he said, "Took ya long 'nough though."

"Hey," I said pretending to be insulted, "In my defense, I was just following you."

"Should always be paying attention," he said moving quicker.

"I usually do," I said trying to keep up, "But being around you makes me feel like I don't have to be as on edge. For once I can relax because I know you have my back. That you're capable of it."

"Good," he said, but didn't say anything else.

It was hard keeping up with him, and by the time he held his hand up to me to stop me from walking, my ankle was screaming at me. He pointed towards some trees and I looked closer. I didn't see the deer until it moved and when I did I also noticed Daryl was already lining up the shot. I stood to his side with my knife at the ready, just in case, but not really thinking I was going to need it. I heard Daryl release a breath and the arrow at the same time.

The arrow sank into the deer's heart and I felt sad and joyful at the same time. I hated seeing a beautiful animal be killed, but at the same time, its life would save ours. Daryl and I walked up to the deer and it was still twitching, it's big brown eyes looking up at me, pleading for me to put it out of its misery. I leaned over and placed my hand on it's head before saying a quick pray, and a thank you, before slicing it's throat. Daryl nodded at me and in that moment we connected even more. I felt as if I really understood this man that was fighting so hard to keep out family alive.

For the next while Daryl and I worked in silence as we prepared the deer for the trip. We worked well together, never tripping each other up or slowing the other down. By the time we were finished, we buried what we weren't taking back, and headed back to camp.

"I can't imagine things won't be awkward when we get back," I said when we could almost see the farm.

"I know," he said looking over to me, silently asking if I was sure that I still wanted to be seen with him. I smiled and quickly took and squeezed his hand before letting it go. "All I know for sure is," I paused leaning against a tree, "I can't wait to get off this foot. I hope they have ice. Hell even just a cold soak would be nice."

"Just go lay down in ma tent when we get back," he said looking down at my foot.

"Nah," I smiled at him before starting walking again, "I'm going to take a nice shower when we get back. Relax for a bit. You should take one too, I'm sure Hershel won't mind. He seems to like you for some reason." I joked and pushed his arm lightly. He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "Told ya I don't need one."

"Oh god Daryl," I laughed, "When the flies don't come around you that's a pretty good sign that you need a shower."

"I don't get bugs," he said looking down at me.

"Mhmm, keep this up," I said motioning towards his body, "And you will."

"Shut up," he said and I acted offended again.

"Anyway," I said after we both laughed, "When I'm done, I'll probably take you up on your offer and climb into your tent. Be nice to have somewhere to lay down that isn't as hard as the ground or floor."

"That's fine," he said as we crossed over the fence to the farm. He nodded at me and I hurried to the tent to grab clothes before going to the house. I tried to keep my eyes down as I walked across the farm, but I knew that Shane was there, watching me, and part of me was happy that he cared to look for me, the other half said he had no right to care.

When I got to the house I knocked and Maggie let me in. She walked with my upstairs as I told her about the deer and she told me that she was happy that I made it back safe, that Sophia and everyone was worried about me. I smiled at her and thanked her for letting me use the shower, but before she left she gave me a small hug and told me that Sophia would probably be in the house by the time I was getting out. I thanked her again and then closed the door to the bathroom.

I walked over to the sink and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I had a few small scraped here and there, no doubt from the night Daryl and I shared, but I noticed something else. Even with the Shane mess right now, I was smiling. I was happy. I hadn't even realized it until I saw myself. I touched my cheek where my lips were curved up and knew that it wasn't just Daryl that was making me smile. The people here, Sophia, Carol, Maggie, Glenn, Rick, Hershel, Dale, and even T-dog and Beth, they were a strange little family to me. I don't know when it happened, but it did. And even though nothing could replace my family, I did love almost everyone here. And I was pretty sure that they loved me too.

**(A/N – This is where I will leave you for now. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and I hope you had a great Holiday. Now that we are back at camp things will start getting more into the story line again. Just to let those of you know who are wondering if Shane is going to die or not, I actually haven't decided. I've worked out what would happen in both scenarios and I can't pick which one yet! I still have some time though and I hope that you enjoy the story in the meantime. **

**Special thanks to sillygabby for your reviews! I loved them and can't wait to hear more! I just want you to know that in either versions of the story, I do not plan on hurting Daryl. (I just love our red neck to much!) And yes I agree that Shane is being a dumby, but I mean hey, who wouldn't with what's going through his head right now?**

**Well, let me know what you think, you know I love to hear from you! Stay warm, and lots of love!) **


	16. Ch 16 Beauty in the Breakdown

**(A/N – Hope everything is going well for you guys! I'm sorry about the no recent updates but I just finished writing a short Boondocks saints story. If that intrests you I just want you to know that it is raunchy so readers be warned! I did update Before and After yesterday too!) **

Chapter 16:

When I undressed I stepped into the shower and adjusted the temperature. I stood there for a few seconds and let the hot water run down over me. I looked at my feet as the water turned a light brown color from the dirt that was coming off of me, and after a few moments of the dirty water it turned back to clear. I didn't want to over stay my time in the shower, but it felt so nice to take a hot shower. Quickly I scrubbed over my body with a washcloth and vanilla body wash before turning and letting the water massage my scalp.

I practically moaned as the water ran through my hair. Slowly, I worked the shampoo through my hair and then rinsed before using the conditioner. I leaned and pulled a razor from my things that I had slid in earlier and quickly shaved under my arms, my legs, and cleaned up some hair around privates. I never really liked to be to harry there, but it was hard to keep everything trimmed up these days. I cleaned the razor out, rinsed out my hair, and stood for another second letting the water rain down on me before getting out and turning off the shower.

As I was drying off there was a knock on the door. I wrapped the towel around myself and put my ear to the door. "Yes?"

"Open up," Daryl's voice was quick and I smiled opening the door. He opened it the rest of the way before closing it behind him. "Having second thoughts about that shower?" I asked wrapping my hair up in the second towel.

"I was gonna join ya," he said resting his back on the wall while chewing the skin on his thumb.

"You're a little late," I smiled at him. The look he was giving me as his eyes looked up and down my body made my skin turn to goose-bumps and had me clenching my thighs together. I wasn't use to being looked at like that and when he moved forward my breath hitched in my throat. "Tha's too bad," he said running his fingers over my shoulder and to the top of the towel.

"Not use to seeing you this forward," I laughed nervously.

"Don' like it?" he asked with a half-smile on his lips as his finger moved into the front of the towel.

"I do," I said and he moved the towel so that it fell and pooled around my feet.

"Turn," he said and I raised my eye brow to him. I wasn't use to being told what to do like this. "I said turn," he said grabbing my arm and flipping me around. Where I normally would have complained, this side of Daryl was turning me on more than I wanted to admit. "Hold onta the sink," he growled and I watched him in the mirror as he unzipped his pants and lined himself up with my center.

My hands gripped the sink so hard my knuckles started to turn white as he moved his head in slow circles before slamming home inside of me. I bit my lip and help back a cry as he took me fast and hard. Watching us in the mirror had me clenching around him and when our eyes met in the mirror he growled and I felt his thrusts getting shorter and harder. "Daryl," I whispered and his one hand slipped up into my hair and jerked me up right. Like this we both could see our bodies connecting and Daryl bit into my shoulder to muffle his grunts while I bit into my own lip. When his free hand picked up my right leg and slid under it to rub my clit I was almost in tears it felt so good. He made me watch as he moved in and out of me and it was the hottest thing I've done in a while.

I turned my head and bit into my arm as I came and the scream lodged in my throat. Daryl tried to let me ride out my orgasm, but he couldn't hold still for long before he growled into my ear and bit my neck leaving a mark. I felt him finish inside of me just as another knock sounded at the door.

Our eyes connected and he held a finger to his lips. "Yes?" I said trying to catch my breath and sound normal. I wasn't sure if it worked though when Daryl pulled out and smirked at me with that half-smile of his. "You ain't done yet?" Shane's voice called and I felt sick to my stomach. Daryl quietly got redressed and placed a hand on my arm before handing me my towel. "Almost," I said, "About another ten minutes or so."

"Can we talk?"

"Shane," I sighed and Daryl sat on the rim of the tub.

"It's jus' you over reacted the other night and I wanted to tell you that its nothing serious."

"I overreacted?" I almost yelled. Even Daryl flinched at my voice as I reached for my clothes and threw the towel to hang over the tub to dry. "I just mean you stormed away before I could talk to ya," he said, "Keep your voice down."

"My voice?" I hissed and Daryl looked amused. I pulled out my red lace thong Carol had washed for me and slipped it on while Daryl looked at me with his hungry blue eyes. "So it's nothing serious with you and Andrea? But you're still fucking her?"

"Yeah," he said uncertainty in his voice.

"And I was supposed to be ok with that?"

"If you just would've talked to me," he said as I pulled on one of the two nice bras I had, I was happy that it matched my panties and it thrilled me that Daryl was watching me the way he was. He didn't seem to care that Shane was at the door. With my hair still in the towel it was hard for me to get the black tank top on, but once I did I grabbed my blue jean short shorts and slipped them on. I didn't normally dress like this, but I felt a little like showing off today. "Talked to you? You were busy," I laughed and looked at Daryl, I could almost see fire burning in his eyes. "What?" I whispered.

"Always want a good fuck after a good huntin' trip," he said lowly.

"Again?" I smirked at him and he shrugged as I started grabbed my things.

"What did you say?" Shane asked.

"Nothing," I said before reaching to the door knob. Daryl looked at me and I knew that he was asking me what the fuck I was doing. But as Shane said, "I don't know why you're being such a bitch about this. And running to Dixon?" I flung the door open and Shane's eyes darted from me to Daryl. "What the fuck is going on?" he growled.

"What?" I asked with a confused look on my face, "Oh it's nothing serious right Daryl?" I looked over my shoulder and Daryl nodded trying to hide his amusement but I could tell he didn't want a fight either. But I knew for a fact he was pissed at Shane too, especially for that last comment. Shane's face turned red and his fists clenched as he took two quick steps up to me. Daryl yanked my arm back and pulled me behind his shielding me from Shane. Shane stopped and looked back and forth between us again. "Back off," Daryl growled and I put my hand on Daryl's bicep and she looked at my arm before turning, punching to door frame and walking out.

Daryl turned and faced me as I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. "Ya alright?" he mumbled closing the door and locking it.

"You didn't have to do that," I said as I felt my knees shake.

"Hadn't planned on doin' it," he said pushing me to sit on the lid of the toilet, "Sit. I'm gonna shower. Then we'll go to ma tent." I nodded and watched him as he undressed. He climbed into the shower and threw his shirt to the floor at the same time. I saw tattoos on his back and what looked to be scars, but he moved to fast for me to really get a good look. A second later the water started and I listened as the water fell and Daryl moved around to get clean.

What felt to be twenty minutes or so later Daryl reached out for a towel and I handed him one. He dried off in the shower and then asked me for his clothes. "Going to get dressed in the shower?" I asked handing him his things.

"Yeah," he said taking them from me. He opened the curtain and he stood there in his shirt and boxers before coming out and pulling on pants and socks. He sat on the edge of the tub again and started pulling on his boots. I did the same and then straddled him. He watched me but didn't say a word as I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. It took a minute, but slowly his arms wrapped around me awkwardly and held me.

I didn't cry, we didn't talk, we just sat like that for a little while. I kept my eyes closed and listened to his heart beat and his breathing as his hands moved up and down my back and arms. "I'm sorry," I finally whispered.

"It's 'lright," he said.

"I shouldn't have done that. I put you right in the middle of Shane and me."

"He already knew ya had come ta me," Daryl said as I sat up, "'Sides, don' really like 'im much either."

"I know," I said giving him a small smile.

"Want to go back to ma tent?" he asked and I smiled.

"You know," I said picking my things that I had dropped earlier, "You can be real sweet when you want to be Dixon."

"Don't tell nobody," he smirked at me as I handed him his things. His smile faded as we walked out of the bathroom and out of the house without anyone noticing us.

The walk to Daryl's tent was a decently far walk, and I knew we were going to pass everyone. I wondered if Shane had said anything to anyone, or if anyone knew about anything that had happened. The closer we got to the group the more nervous I found myself. _"Stop it!" I thought to myself, "You are a grown ass woman and you don't need the approval of anyone. And who cares what people are going to say? They are going to talk anyway."_ I sighed.

"Y'all right?"

"Yeah," I said and looked at him as he turned his head over his shoulder to see me, "Just don't feel like hearing other talk."

"Shane ain't told them nothin'," he said and I knew that was probably true. He stopped talking when we got to camp. "Maria!" Sophia yelled from over at a picnic table.

"Hello there," I said stooping down when she ran over to me. She wrapped her arms around me and I hugged her back. "Did you find anything?" she asked looking at Daryl.

"Mr. Dixon got us a deer for dinner," I smiled up at him.

"You did?" she asked letting go of me and blushing.

"Mhmm," Daryl nodded watching the little girl.

"Mama said you looked for me when I was lost," Sophia said turning an even deeper red. Daryl looked at her and chewed the skin on his thumb as he nodded. "Thank you," she said quieter and I knew she was losing her nerve. Daryl wasn't the easiest person to talk to, But Sophia had put herself out there and I was proud for her. "Ready to go back to the tent?" I asked knowing that Daryl wanted to get away. He nodded. "You aren't going to stay?"

"I'm tired querido," I said running my hand through her hair, "Let me sleep and then I will play with you."

"Promise?"

"Promise," I said before walking her over to the picnic table. Carol gave me a small smile and I wondered why her smile looked forced, but I shrugged it off and walked back over to Daryl who waited where I had left him. When we were out of ear shot I looked over to him and nudged him with my shoulder. "She has a crush on you," I chuckled.

"What?" he asked looking at me shocked.

"What do you mean what?"

"Naw she doesn't."

"Believe what you want," I smirked as we got to his tent, "So we are actually going to sleep right?" Daryl looked at me and I almost laughed at the expression he wore. I crawled in and he smacked my ass making me stumble. "Easy there caveman," I laughed as I pulled my shoes off. He zipped the tent shut and pulled off his shoes and then his pants before growling at me, "Don't take yer clothes off."

"God you insatiable," I smiled and laughed as he tackled me to the bed.

"What?"

"You're always in the mood to be fucked," I laughed out as he nuzzled into my neck and he bit kissed and licked.

"Mhmm," he smiled against my neck.

"I'm never going to sleep," I moaned as his kissed a sore spot he made. He chuckled and continued touching me over my clothes.

**(A/N – So I'm sorry I slacked off on the updates but I hope that the story is still good and that you still want to read! Thanks for sticking with me! Let me know what you think and I'll update again as soon as I can! Lots of love!)**


	17. Ch 17 The City Sleeps in Flames

**(A/N – So guess who's snowed in? This girl! Hope everyone is safe wherever you are and enjoy the day!)**

Chapter 17:

"Bravo," I laughed out trying to catch my breath. Daryl chuckled and rolled over and onto his back. "Feel better?" I asked turning to my side and leaned on Daryl's chest.

"Mhmm," he nodded, his eyes already closed.

"So I can sleep now?" I smirked. His lips quirked up for a second before I rolled off of him and pulled the sheet I had brought from the house over our naked bodies. I felt exhausted from yesterday and today and quickly fell asleep as Daryl's snores filled the tent.

When I woke Daryl was still sleeping and I looked around for my clothes. When I found them I set up quietly and attempted to get dressed. "Whatcha doin'?" Daryl asked placing an arm over his face to block out the sun.

"Cause I need to put clothes on," I said patting his arm before standing up.

"Nah," he said and I smirked.

"Yea," I sat on the edge of the cot and pulled my boots on and tied them, "I'm hungry. And I told Sophia I wouldn't be too long."

"Hnn," Daryl nodded.

"You hungry? Want me to bring ya anything?"

"Nah," he said rolling to his side, "Gonna sleep some more."

"Alright," I said before unzipping the tent. As I moved one foot out the tent Daryl slapped my ass making me stumble the rest of the way out. I turned and glared, but the man was already back on his side with his arm over his face. I rolled my eyes and laughed before walking back to join the group.

When I got close I smiled and held a finger to my lips as Carol saw me. I walked quietly up behind Sophia and covered her eyes with my hands. "Who is it?" Sophia giggled. I didn't say anything as she squirmed under my hands. "Maria?" she laughed and I moved my hands, "Hi!"

"Hello there," I said swinging my leg over the bench and sitting down next to Sophia, "What are you up too?"

"Mama is giving me some math problems and spelling words," she said then whispered into my ear, "I really don't like math."

"Oh no?" I laughed and picked up a pencil and some paper, "I love math, here let's have a competition. Whoever gets done first wins…."

"Wins what?" Sophia said bouncing in her chair a little.

"How about a candy bar the next time I go into town?"

"Really?" Sophia asked her entire face lighting up.

"Carol?"

"Sure," she nodded with a smile on her face. Carol wrote down some problems on a page and Sophia and I waited for Carol to say go. When she did I would glance over to Sophia's paper and make sure that I didn't get to far ahead. I stopped on the last problem and acted as if I couldn't figure it out while Sophia finished. "Done!" she said grabbing her paper.

"No!" I laughed and finished up my work. Carol took our papers and checked them and said that Sophia was the winner. Just then Dale walked up to us. "Maria," he said placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Hello Dale," I said standing up and getting something to eat for myself and Daryl, even though he had said he was ok, "How can I help you."

"I was hoping to have a word with you and Daryl," he said looking a little sheepish.

"What about?"

"I'd rather talk about this in private," he said glancing over to Sophia who was busy working on the rest of her words.

"Alright," I said and handed him a bowl, "Hold this then?" He took the bowl and I grabbed some water before filling another bowl with food and grabbing two peaches. We walked in silence back to the tent and Daryl was just coming out. He nodded at me and I gave him a quick smile before handing him the bowl I carried. "Didn't have ta," he said taking it and the water I handed him.

"Dale wanted to talk to us so I figured why not," I said taking my food from Dale.

"Wha' ya want ta talk 'bout?" Daryl asked licking his fingers clean after he popped some meat into his mouth.

"That boy that you brought back," Dale said looking to me, "We are getting together tonight to see what we are going to do with him."

"And you came to talk me onto your side of the group talk," I said sitting against the tree.

"They want to kill him," Dale said getting upset.

"And you don't?" I asked.

"No! He's still a boy. Who are we to take his life?" Daryl sat there and listened as Dale and I talked. "Please say that you'll help me protect this boy's life."

"I don't know Dale," I said placing my bowl to the side and finishing my water, "Let me think about it. I just don't know if I see many other ways to do this."

Dale sighed and looked to Daryl who shrugged. "We'll be there tonight," I said standing up and walking up to Dale, "We'll figure something out." Then I walked into the tent. I listened to Dale and Daryl talk for a moment before Dale walked away and Daryl re-entered the tent to find me laying on my stomach on the cot. He didn't say anything as he sat down next to me. "Sometimes I think it would have been better if I would have left after I brought Sophia back, this group is falling apart," I said my face still in the pillow.

"It's broken," he said simply and I turned my head to look at him, "How's yer foot?"

"Sore," I said rolling over and pulling off my boot.

"Here," he said and moved towards my foot. I smiled and let him take it, watching as he turned my foot in his hands and rubbed my leg, ankle and foot. We sat there like that for a while, not really saying anything. I closed my eyes and relaxed, loving how expertly his hands worked over my foot.

When he was done he patted my foot and I took it back from him. "Thanks," I said and he nodded.

"We should get inside," he said walking out of the tent.

"Yeah," I said and pulled my boot back on before following him out, "This will be fun."

"Yeah right," he scoffed at me.

"What do you think about this?" I asked and he shrugged as we walked to the house in silence.

When we walked into the house the tension just rolled over us and I saw Daryl's back straighten just like mine did. "Oh yea," I said loud enough for just him to hear me, "This is going to be fun." Daryl shot me a knowing look and we moved to where everyone was standing in the living room. I nodded to Rick and then to Dale as Daryl and I stood in the door way, closest to the door.

I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and saw Shane. I looked over to him and saw that he was watching me carefully. He nodded to me and I looked at him for a second before nodding back. I looked around the rest of the room and saw that everyone, even Hershel's family was there. Looking at everyone's faces, and feeling the energy in the room, I knew exactly how this night was going to go. But nothing could have prepared me for what happened.

**(A/N – Well I hope you are enjoying the Super Bowl, I thought the half time show was pretty cool. I hope that you enjoyed this Chapter and I'm going to work to get the next one out shortly. Let me know what you think, getting your reviews helps me to know that there are people out there who are reading this lol. Stay safe and lots of love!)**


	18. Ch 18 Everything I'm Not

**(A/N – Enjoy!)**

Chapter 18:

"No," I whispered as I held Dale's hand in mine. He was laying in the dark on wet grass with his chest completely ripped open. Daryl and I were the first ones to get there, and now everyone else was finally catching up. Dale was choking on his blood as he looked into my eyes and I knew that he wasn't going to make it. I could tell in his eyes that he knew that too. Andrea knelt down on the opposite side of me and cried over Dale's body. Rick was yelling to try to get Daryl inside so that Hershel could help him. I tried to tell him that it wouldn't matter, Dale wasn't going to make it. But Hershel told him instead.

"He's suffering," I said and Andrea sobbed louder. I looked up to Rick and then to Daryl, pleading for them to do something. Rick looked at me and moved forward with his gun. I ran my hand over Dale's cheek and he looked at me again. "I'm sorry Dale," I said in a whisper, "I'm going to help fix this group." I saw thanks and understanding in his eyes as I squeezed his hand in mine. I looked back up to Rick and Dale tilted his head to see him too. Rick's hand shook and I knew he wasn't going to be able to do it.

Before I could do anything, Daryl's hand covered the gun and took it away from Rick. Daryl knelt down and held the gun out. I held tight to Dale's hand and just looked at him until Daryl said, "Sorry brother." Then the gun shot rang out. Dale's hand fell from mine and Andrea sobbed harder. I took several deep breaths before standing up. Daryl looked at me and we nodded to each other before T-dog, Rick, Glenn and Shane moved forward to help with Dale's body.

I moved out of the way and Daryl moved to help them. I walked out into the field, ignoring the calls of Lori and Maggie, just wanting time to myself. I found myself at the edge of the swamp and noticed the tracks there. It looked like the walker had been stuck in the mud here, but there was a set of smaller footsteps that confused me. Why would Carl or Sophia be out here? I followed the tracks back to the field so that tomorrow I could show Hershel where we needed extra protection.

I looked out over the field and noticed that everyone was gone already. I thought about going to see Sophia, going to the house or going to Daryl's tent. In the end Daryl's tent won out. "Wondered when ya were gonna show up," Daryl said as I entered the tent. I didn't say anything, I just picked up the bottle that we had left in his tent and took a such a big drink that by the time I was done my eyes were watering, my nose was starting to run, my throat burned and I was coughing. "Easy," he said and took the bottle from me. I looked up at him after cleaning my face with the bottom of my shirt. "Wanna talk?" he asked without looking at me. I shook my head and climbed into his lap.

He wrapped his arms around my back as I brought my lips to his. It wasn't a gentle kiss, there was nothing sweet or romantic about it either. It was just a kiss that helped me to forget everything that had just happened. His hands clawed at my back and I was sure that he broke skin, but I was clawing at his arms and back too and I knew for a fact that I had drawn blood. I moved my lips from his mouth and bit down into his neck making him growl. I sat back and ripped his shirt off of him before our lips crashed back together. I could feel tears slipping out of my eyes, but I ignored them and let Daryl kiss down to my neck. The force of his kissing and biting on my neck made me certain that I would have marks tomorrow, but I welcomed the sting of pain. "No holding back," I said holding him back from me. He growled and nodded before grabbing the hem of my shirt and yanked it off of me before using it to tie my hands above my head. He unhooked my bra and tossed it off before picking me up and laying me on my stomach on the cot.

I tried to look over my shoulder at him but he yanked my hips up to his before his hand came down hard on my ass making me squeak in shock. He grabbed my shorts and undid them and yanked them off of me before I heard him take off the rest of his clothes. "Ya sure ya want this?" he asked pressing his body against mine. I nodded and he leaned back and smacked my ass hard. "What?" he said rubbing the spot he had just hit.

"Yes," I whimpered, "I want this." That was all it took. He rubbed his cock over my opening and bucked his hips forward so that the head gave my clit glorious friction. My head fell down and he slapped my ass again making my cry out before I bit my lip. He rubbed the red spot then repeated the action a few times as he continued running his length through my wet folds. I arched my back and his hand on my hip straightened me again. Just when I thought this torture would never end, he plunged into my completely filling me in one thrust. I cried out a little too loudly and he shoved my shoulder down so that my face was in the blankets but my lower half stayed up in the air.

He continued to pound into me over and over again as I cried out with each thrust. When I was able to control my thoughts again I heard him growling as his fingers dug into my hips hard enough to leave fresh bruises. The shirt that held my hands had come undone slightly, but I didn't pull my hands free. Instead I tightened myself around him and his thrust faltered for a second before his found his pace again. "Do tha' again," he huffed out as he rammed into me. I did as I was told and he growled again. He leaned forward and bit down hard into my shoulder and used his fingers to rub my clit. "Daryl," I moaned out forgetting everything other then the man that was using me. He gently slapped my clit sending my spiraling over the edge and into my orgasm. "Fuck," he grunted out as his hips thrusted with short deep thrusts against me as I felt him fill me.

He reached up and pulled the shirt off of my hands before rolling onto his back. I turned over to him and he pulled me against him without hesitation. He knew what I needed and I silently thanked him for it. I pressed my face into his side and held him tight to me as the tears started coming to my eyes again. "He's gone," I whimpered, "He's really gone. I haven't been here long, but he was a good friend. We didn't always see eye to eye, but he was a good man." Daryl hushed me. "I know," he said rubbing my arm with his warm hand. He reached down and pulled the blanket over us. "He didn't deserve it," Daryl said as he held me closer. I knew at that point that, even if he denied it, he needed this too.

"Good night Daryl," I said trying to stop my tears.

"Night Maria," he said folding his other arm under his head.

I didn't sleep well that night, it seemed every other hour I was wide awake. I wasn't alone though because it seemed that Daryl was having a hard time sleeping too. Sometimes we talked when we were awake, once we took a walk, and other times we just sat there in silence. He never pressured me to talk about anything, and I didn't pressure him either. We just needed each other's company.

The next morning we had Dale's funeral and there wasn't a dry eye there. Rick gave an amazing eulogy and I knew that in that moment, everyone agreed and wanted to become the kind of people Dale knew that we could be. I watched Shane pace back and forth and I could tell he needed someone now more than ever to talk to. Daryl started heading off to the tent and I touched his elbow, "I need to go talk to him."

"Goin huntin' for a bit," he said looking over to Shane, "Be careful. See ya tonight." I gave him an awkward one armed hug before he took off into the woods. I followed Shane to the barn where they were keeping the boy. "Hey," I said not wanting to startle him. He looked up at me with surprise, then anger. "What do you want?" he spat at me.

"I think it's time we talk, don't you?" I asked walking up to him.

"You get tired of fucking Dixon?" he asked crossing his arms over his chest.

"Shane if you don't want to talk fine. Just say so. Don't act like a child. You're blaming me, but if I did something wrong, I'm not the only one. Don't forget, you fucked Andrea because you were mad at me."

"That was different," he mumbled out.

"How?" I asked crossing my arms over my chest mirroring his stance. When he didn't answer me I sighed and dropped my arms. "Look," I said walking up to him so that I was in his face, "I care about you, I really do. But I'm not going to play these games with you. I know you still have a thing for Lori, and now Andrea has a thing for you, I'm not going to fight for someone who doesn't care enough to fight for me too."

"I do care," he said dropping his arms, "I just."

"I know," I said taking his hand in both of mine, "There's a lot going on right now. But Lori is with her husband and child. She's pregnant with their baby."

"It could be mine," he said pulling his hand away from me.

"No Shane," I said trying to find a way to say this gently, "It will be Rick's baby. You have to believe that."

"No!" he almost yelled at me and started walking away.

"Shane!" I yelled for him to come back to me.

"What?" he said spinning around to face me.

"Don't do this," I said almost in a whisper.

"Do what?" he hissed getting more upset.

"Don't walk away from me. Let's talk about this. Actually sit down and talk about this. About us. Before we got into that fight, I know that there was something between us. I don't want this to end like this."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be fucking Dixon."

"Ugh! Do you even hear yourself?" I yelled throwing my hands up in the air, "You're fucking Andrea! I've see her leaving your tent in the morning looking guilty but you're yelling at me for doing the same thing that you're doing."

"It's…"

"Don't you dare say it's different. There are no differences. None!"

"I don't have to listen to this," he said walking away. I took a deep breath and ran up to him and grabbed his arm. He spun around and pinned me to the side of the barn and kissed me. I fought back for a moment and then let him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt everything he wanted to tell me but couldn't. I knew he was upset about Daryl, but I kissed him back with as much force as he was kissing me. I knew that he cared about me, but at that moment I knew that there was no way he was ever going to stop loving Lori. He wanted everything Rick had, and I was never going to be enough for him. I pulled away and felt a twinge of hurt in my heart. "Shane," I looked up at him and I knew that he knew what I was about to say, "Are you ever going to give Lori up?" He looked at me and tried to kiss me again. "Shane?"

"I don't know," he said pulling away from me, "I do care about you."

"But you love her," I said walking up behind him and placed my hand on his shoulder. He didn't say anything and I knew that I was right. I turned him around gently and kissed him softly once more. "You can talk to me whenever you need to," I smiled at him but I knew the smile didn't reach my eyes.

"I know," he said putting a hand over my hand on his cheek. He turned his head and kissed it. "We don't have to stop," he said holding my hand tightly.

"Shane," I said taking his hands in mine, "I care about you. More then you know. I can't do that to myself. Be with someone I know who will never love me."

"I'm sorry," he said letting go of my hand.

"I know," I said, "Just promise me you'll talk to me before you do anything stupid ok?" I laughed a little as I said that and he nodded at me before walking away.

**(A/N – So I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, it made me sad writing it though. Let me know what you think and let me know if you have any questions! Lots of love!)**


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